title: Continuing education: preparing patients to choose a renal replacement therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with progressive chronic kidney disease face a series of treatment decisions that will impact the quality of life of themselves and their family. Renal replacement therapy option education (RRTOE), generally provided by nurses, is recommended by international guidelines
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide nurses with advice and guidance on running RRTOE.
  
  
  METHODS
  A consensus conference.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four nurses, 5 nephrologists and 1 clinical psychologist (9 renal units; 6 European countries) from units that had extensive experience in RRTOE or were performing research in this field.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experts brainstormed and discussed quality standards for the education team, processes, content/topics, media/material/funding and quality measurements for RRTOE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Conclusions and recommendations from these discussions that are particularly pertinent to nurses are presented in this paper.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Through careful planning and smooth interdisciplinary cooperation, it is possible to implement an education and support programme that helps patients choose a form of RRT that is most suited to their needs. This may result in benefits in quality of life and clinical outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are large differences between renal units in terms of resources available and the demographics of the catchment area. Therefore, nurses should carefully consider how best to adapt the advice offered here to their own situation. Throughout this process, it is crucial to keep in mind the ultimate goal - providing patients with the knowledge and skill to make a modality choice that will enhance their quality of life to the greatest degree.
authors.affiliation: Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Service de Néphrologie, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goovaerts
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bagnis Isnard
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crepaldi
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Melander
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prieto-Velasco
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trujillo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zambon
authors.forename: Eva-Lena
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Nilsson
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D000070516:Intersectoral Collaboration; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D017582:Renal Replacement Therapy / Q000451:nursing*
keywords: End-stage kidney disease; education; predialysis; renal replacement therapy