News

18/3/24

We are very excited to announce that the NZASRDP Journal Club is now live online! You can access the online Journal Club through the members section of our website. Log in and the link to access the current available journals is in your menu bar on the left of screen. Certificates of completion are automatically generated after successfully answering the journal questions. 

We are working on slowly uploading some of our older journals. Due to formatting not all of the current journals will be uploaded so if you would like to use any of these for your portfolio please do so asap as they will shortly be removed from our website. 

As we are now up and running, we will be again seeking submissions bi-monthly from different services around New Zealand and Australia. Auckland is up for April, so if you would like to contribute an article with questions please contact your local Board member. Please note that the Journal Club submission guidelines have changed due to the new formatting, please familiarise yourself with these on our Journal Club page.

Thank you to our Board members who have worked to make this possible, and are continuing to migrate our old records to the new system.

 

20/2/24

The NZASRDP Board held their first meeting for 2024 last week. Congratulations to Vinish Vasudevan who was nominated by his management and ratified at this meeting. He has now officially joined the NZASRDP Board.

Please keep an eye on your emails as the Board will soon be requesting expressions of interest to join sub-committees to assist with various aspects of running the society.

The Dave Lilley Memorial Scholarship remains open until May, please consider applying if you have an education endeavour that could be supported.

Finally, the RSA Annual Conference is fast approaching and as always we enjoy seeing a large physiologist presence at these events. Abstract submissions have recently been extended, please consider sharing a research or QI project from your area with the wider renal community. Information for the conference can be found through the RSA conference website.

 

29/11/23

Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM and education day last week at Waipuny Hotel & Conference Centre. The event was a huge success with many knowledgeable and engaging speakers. We would like to in particular thank our guest speakers Dr Janak De Zoysa and Dr Hussain Allawati and our generous sponsors; The Kidney Society, SC Bio Limited and SWAN Analytical.

We also appreciate everyone who presented, MCed, chaired, organised and assisted with the day. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to plan an event like this and our members and Board members all volunteer their time to benefit us all.

At the AGM we acknowledged the significant service our outgoing Chair Balaji Jagannathan has made for our profession. Balaji has been involved in many developments and transitions over his years and his presence on the Board will be missed. Shaiju Thaikandy has taken over as Chair and we wish him all the best in this new role.

We awarded our annual Outstanding Achievement Award to Gayathri Devi who was nominated by her peers and is a very deserving winner. Congratulations also to the other nine nominees, you should all be very proud of your achievements and that your work is being recognised by your colleagues. 

 

22/6/23

The 2023 RSA Conference in Sydney was a huge success! It was great so see many of our physiologist, nursing, and llied health colleagues getting together for lots of learning, networking and celebrating renal health and out many achievements. A huge congratulations to Shaiju Thaikandy and team at Te Matau a Maui Hawke's Bay for Patients First Award - Team for their handling of a natural disaster where they put their people and communities first and demonstrated strategies to support best outcomes for the patient and their community.

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in this annual event. We hope to see many people in Brisbane for the 2024 conference!

 

28/11/22

It was fabulous to see so many members in person and online at our AGM and education evening on Friday. Thank to all those who organised, presented and attended the evening. We would also like to send a huge thank you to our event sponsors, The Kidney Society and SC Bio Limited.

At the AGM Balaji officially thanked our outgoing Board members Fredric Doss, Jodie Morgan and Talane Bray. The Society appreciates all the time and effort you have put in to furthering our profession.

The inaugural winner of the NZASRDP Outstanding Acheivement Award was announced as Vinish Vasudevan. Congratulations to Vinish and to all the nominees, you should be very proud that your contributions have been recognised by your peers.

 

28/9/22

In order to recognise individuals in our profession, the Board is excited to announce an new annual award, to be presented each year at the AGM. The NZASRDP Outstanding Achievement Award will recognise clinical renal physiologists who have made a special contribution to renal care. This may be in patient care, progression of the profession, innovation, research, education, mentoring, or in any other way. 

We are now asking for nominations for the inaugural NZASRDP Outstanding Achievement Award. You can find the nomination form here.

Please consider nominating your physiologist colleagues who you think deserve to be recognised for making an outstanding contribution. Nominations for 2022 close Friday 4th November.

 

14/9/22

After two years of the pandemic keeping our meetings virtual, please save the date for a face to face event! The 2022 NZASRDP AGM and Education Evening will be held in Auckland on 25th November, time and venue to be confirmed. Please save the date, it will be great to finally be able to again meet in person. This event will be available virtually for those unable to attend.

Congratulations to Rajeev Kumar who was awarded the Nora Van der Schriek Scholarship from The Kidney Society. You can read more about that here. Shaiju Thaikandy was also recently awarded Best Asian Practising Professional by the Multicultural Association Hawkes Bay. It is fabulous to see so many of our members frequently recognised for their contributions. If you receive an award or recognition in some way, or know of a colleague who has, please let us know at admin@nzasrdp.com so that we can let our community know of your/their achievements.

We have also welcomed Ramesh Kodla to our Board, replacing Fredric Doss.

 

20/6/22

The RSA conference in Darwin was held last week and it was a huge success. Thank you to the RSA who put together the first face to face meeting in two years with many informative and interesting speakers, posters and events. 

Huge congratulations to Rajeev Kumar who was awarded the RSA Education Excellence award. Keep your eyes on communication from the RSA for more details regarding Rajeev's award.

Kristen Schuck received Best Paper - Research for her presentation on The 2021 Australian and New Zealand Dialysis Workforce Study. 

 

24/5/22

Thank you to those members who attended the SGM held last Friday 20/5/22. In that meeting we recognised outgoing Board members Jodie Morgan and former Board Chair Fredric Doss. Thank you both for all the time, effort and dedication you have put in to further the clinical renal physiology profession. We also welcomed Aparna Nair as our new Board member representing Royal Mlebourne Hospital. Congratulations on your appointment Aparna!

 

2/5/22

Auckland University of Technology is once again advertising for students to commence a Graduate Diploma in Health Science in Renal Physiology for sememster 2, 2022. Please see attached flyers for further information and disseminate to anyone you think might be interested in studying for a career in renal physiology.

AUT Graduate Diploma

AUT further information

 

14/7/21

Auckland University of Technology is commencing a Graduate Diploma in Health Science in semester 2 2021 for renal physiology, subject to enrolments. Please see Approved Training Programs/Courses page and below for further details, and disseminate to anyone you think might be interested in taking part for semester 2 this year. 

The RSA federal conference for 2021 was run via a virtual platform in June, and was a huge success thanks to much hard work to everyone involved. We had several physiologists participating in the conference, notably Aparna Nair presented a paper about anaphylaxis management in a satellite setting, and Kristen Schuck presented on the development of accredited qualifications for clinical renal physiologists. Anthea White put together and co-hosted the sustainability workship for another year, with Jason Wei assisting.

Congratulations to to Jason Wei for being awarded the RSA New Zealand Branch Award, and Kristen Schuck for receiving the RSA Victorian Branch Award for 2021.

 

AUT - Graduate Diploma in Health Science

I am pleased to inform you that Graduate Diploma in Health Science - Renal physiology qualification via AUT is now open for 2nd semester July 2021 subject to minimum number of enrolments 12 to 15 by end of July 2021.

For July 2021 semester, the following renal papers will be open for enrolments:

  • Renal Science (15 points)
  • Renal health, culture and context (15 points)

These two papers are open to nurses who are working in renal interested in completing a foundational renal paper.

Two existing AUT papers are also open for enrolment:

  • Pharmacology for health professionals (15 points)
  • Methods of research and enquiry (15 points)

For next semester:

Renal pathology and treatment (15 points)  & renal physiology clinical practice (45 points) will be available next semester to complete the qualification Graduate Diploma in Health Science.

For any further information, please contact Balaji Jagannathan.

 

1/6/21

All members should receive a notifcation to renew their NZASRDP membership for 2021/22 via email in the coming weeks (please check your junk/spam). If you do not receive this notification or have any log in issues please email admin@nzasrdp.com or speak to your local Board member for assistance. Membership fees are due by 15th July 2021.

 

29/3/21

Congratulations to Babu Sankariah for being awarded the Dave Lilley Memorial Educational Scholarship for 2021. 

Early bird registrations for the 2021 RSA Conference close on 14th April. This year the RSA is offering a virtual attendance, if you are unable or uncertain about travelling at the moment. This conference always provide excellent education opportunities, networking, and fun! There are several physiologists which abstracts accepted, it would be great to see as many members there as possible. You can register directly on the RSA website

 

31/8/20

Congratulations to two of our members who received awards for outstanding achievements last week.

Belinda Veljanovski was awarded with an RMH You Made A Difference award, for going above and beyond to ensure patients involved in a hard lockdown were granted permission to leave their residence to ensure they could attend their dialysis treatments.

Anthea White was awarded with the annual RSA Vic Branch award, for her ongoing commitment to the RSA in the area of sustainability.

Congratulations Belinda and Anthea, both awards are well deserved. Thank you for continuing to represent our profession and act as role models to improve patient care.

 

9/6/20

It has been a very difficult first half of the year for everyone, but it has been great to see how well our teams have been working together to protect our patients and each other. Whilst we need to remain vigilant, no active cases in New Zealand and only a very small number in Australia means the best outcomes for all our planning in that it was largely not needed. Thank you to all our members for going the extra mile and performing extra tasks; planning, screening, cleaning, ensuring access to essential supplies and just being there for our patients.

Our June journal club article is now available here. It is an interesting piece from Italy about two dialysis units who were involved in the COVID-19 crisis with many positive patients and how they managed the situation. Many thanks to Giuseppe Rombola for allowing us to use this article.

You should have received a recent email regarding membership fees for 2020/21. Please ensure your fees are paid prior to the due date of July 15th. If you are having any problems logging in or paying fees please contact kristen.schuck2@mh.org.au as soon as possible to sort out any issues.

Stay safe!

 

11/11/19

Thank you to all our members who attended our annual symposium and AGM on Friday 8th November 2019. The evening was held at Waipuna Hotel and videoconferenced to Melbourne,and was a great success. Thank you to all those involved in organising the event, and to Gurpreet Kaur for hosting the evening.

The following speakers shared their knowledge and experiences:

  • Sreejith Nair - Vascular Access Coordinator
  • Babu Sankariah - Primary Care Model of Care
  • Ameen Abubacker and Dianne Hewitt - Water Quality in HHD
  • Yardly Celestine - Hand Hygiene and Practice Standardisation
  • Code of Ethics and Professionalism - Alfred John

Thank you again to our sponsors, SCBio and Sonosite.

 

We are currently accepting applications for the Dave Lilley Education Scholarship for 2020. Please see our Scholarships/Grants page for further information.

 

9/9/19

Congratulations to Rajeev Kumar from Auckland DHB who has been awarded with the Adult Medical Directorate Values-Based Practice Award.

This award is for an Allied Health Scientific or Technical professional who is recognised for values-based practice in their profession or technical field. Rajeev received this award as he is dedicated, respectful, kind and competent. He exemplifies leadership and has provided significant advancement for the renal physiology professional profile. Rajeev inspires his colleagues with his passion and enthusiasm for work.

Congratulations again Rajeev! 

 

3/9/19

NZASRDP are seeking expressions of interest from members to give a short (10-15 minute) presentation at the education evening in Auckland on Friday November 8th 2019. 

Please email a short overview of your topic to admin@nzasrdp.com by 30th of September.

 

21/8/19

Please save the dates for the following events in November. Further details will follow on our events page soon.

  • AGM Friday 8th November
  • Education evening Friday 8th November
  • Renal Pharmacology Saturday 9th November

We hope to see many of you at these events!

 

1/7/19

Congratulations to the RSA for another very successful conference held in Auckland last week. It was a great opportunity for professional development and networking. Congratulations to the following renal physiologists who participated in the conference:

  • Sujatha Mani - Hypersensitivity Reactions to Synthetic Haemodialysis Dialyser Membrane, Our Experience (poster)
  • Jason Wei - Challenges for a Sustainable ESRD Program: Value Based Care (poster), and Introduction of Green Nephrology/Dialysis - Way to Support a Sustainable RRT (poster)
  • Mari Doss - An Exemplary Pathway (oral presentation)
  • Kristen Schuck - The Australian Clinical Renal Physiologist Workforce (oral presentation)
  • Talane Bray - Clinical Renal Physiologist, an Evolved Workforce (invited speaker)

Special mentions to Sujatha who was awarded the people's choice award for her poster, and Kristen who was awarded best paper novice, and best paper research for her oral presentation.

We would also like to congratulate Belinda Veljanovski who was awarded the Dave Lilley Education Memorial Scholarship for 2019 to attend the RSA conference.

In NZASRDP Board news, Mari Doss has completed her term and will be replaced by Talane Bray on the Board. We thank Mari for all her work and welcome Talane.

 

7/5/19

A very successful education evening was held in Melbourne on Friday 3rd May at the Gannawarra Conference Centre in Essendon.

The attendees heard from two member delegates speaking on Sustainability in Dialysis (Anthea White) and Dementia Care in Practice (Belinda Veljanovski).

We were lucky enough to hear from three guest speakers:

  • Danielle Agius (Renal Physiologist) - Aseptic Non-Touch Technique in the Dialysis Setting
  • Daila Krumins (Pharmacist) - Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamics
  • Janine Bradbury (CKD Co-Ordinator) - Barriers to Transplant, Sensitive Pap Smear

The evening provided a different perspective to our every day practice and a chance to refresh our knowledge and network with colleagues.

A huge thank you to all those who attended, presented and organised the evening!

 

19/3/19

With the RSA federal conference for 2019 quickly approaching, we are now taking applications for the Dave Lilley Memorial Education Scholarship to assist in funding attendance for eligible physiologist(s). Details on how to apply for the scholarship can be found in the Scholarships/Grants section of the website.

Applications for the Dave Lilley Memorial Education Scholarship will close on Sunday 7th April 2019

Earlybird conference registration closes on April 17th. It would be great to see a large contingent of physiologists at the conference this year. For further details about the RSA conference and to register your attendance, see the RSA website.

 

11/2/19

We are currently requesting expressions of interest from member delegates to give a short (10-15 minute) presentation at the education evening in Melbourne on Friday 3rd May. Please email your topic to admin@nzasrdp.com by 10th March.

 

10/12/18

Abstracts for the 2019 RSA federal conference are now open and will close on February 20th 2019. The theme of the conference is 'Asking the Hard Questions' and will be held from June 27-29 in Auckland. Submitting an abstract for a poster or oral presentation is a great opportunity to showcase quality projects and initiatives from your area, and help you develop your presentation and public speaking skills to a like-minded audience. For more details and submission guidelines please see the RSA website.

Earlybird registrations are available at a discount for RSA members until April 17th, register through the RSA website

 

4/12/18

November was a huge month for NZASRDP! 

On Friday 2nd of November NZASRDP, in conjunction with Royal Melbourne Hospital Kidney Care Service, held an education evening and professional society launch in Melbourne. The first invited speaker was Ellen Flint (Executive Director of People and Culture) who presented education and ran a workshop on Effective Workplace Relationships. We then had Professor Steve Holt (Director of Nephrology) review the pathology of Hepatitis B and discuss the new CARI Guidelines around the management of patients. Kristen and Fredric both spoke of the Australian launch of NZASRDP, providing some background information and what we hope to achieve together in the near future.

The NZASRDP Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 23rd November at the Novotel, Ellerslie, and videoconferenced to Melbourne. Balaji hosted the meeting as the new NZASRDP Board Chairman, after Fredric stepped down from the position. Fredric's term as Board member had also concluded and he has been renominated and ratified to sit for another term. The Board also welcomed Shaiju's renomination for another term, and new Board member Yardly Celestine was ratified to replace outgoing member Ameen Abubacker. Thank you for your time on the Board Ameen! It was announced that Professor Steve Holt will be joining the Board as Australian nephrologist representative.

Other AGM business included updates on NZASRDP, CPRB, MIT, NRAB, finance and roadshows, the minutes have been circulated via email.

The Board were happy to annouce the inaugural recipient of the Dave Lilley Memorial Scholarship as Rajeev Kumar. Dave's family were in attendance to present the award to Rajeev, who asked for a minute of silence to remember Dave and thanked his family as he accepted the scholarship. Congratulations Rajeev! The Dave Lilley Memorial Scholarhip is an annual award of which all NZASRDP financial members are eligible to apply. More information and the application form can be found here.

The AGM was followed by an education evening sponsored by Nipro; many thanks to Guy Shead for his assistance. We were fortunate to have several members speak at the evening which included the following topics:

  • Home haemodialysis in Auckland prison - Balaji Jagannathan
  • Dialyser hypersensitivity, case study presentation - Sujatha Mani
  • Clinical Vision and the advancement in documentation - Reufus Joseph
  • Dialysis access infections in home haemodialysis patients: A single centre experience - Vinish Vasudevan
  • Clinical Physiologist workforce development in Australia - Kristen Schuck
  • Advanced vascular surveillance - Prabhakaran Dhanaraj

An award was presented to Fredric Doss, outgoing NZASRDP Board Chairman in recognition of his tireless contribution to the development and promotion of our workforce. We thank Fredric for all his hard work and wish Balaji well as he steps into the role of Chairman.

MIT hosted a second renal pharmacology short course on Saturday 24th November after the success of the course the previous year. Many thanks to all the speakers, facilitators and all those who assisted to once again make this day a great success.

 

We have a lot to look forward to in 2019. NZASRDP will be launching a journal club via the website early in the year, more details will follow shortly. We have also planned our event dates for the year which will include an education evening in Melbourne on Friday 3rd May and the AGM and education evening in Auckland on Friday 22nd November. Details of these events will be announced closer to the days on the events page, but please save the dates.

 

Thank you to all who have contributed to the success of NZASRDP across 2018. Together we have established international status as an incorporated professional society and welcomed our new Australian members. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to our continued progress in 2019.

 

22/10/18

The Treatment of Kidney Failure in New Zealand book is now available for free through the Kidney Health New Zealand website.

Please send your RSVP for the education evening/AGM to admin@nzasrdp.comWe are also looking for expressions of interest to provide a poster or short oral presentation, please email mari.charles@middlemore.co.nz. For further details, see the events page.

An email was sent out to all members detailing the application process for the Renal Pharmacolgy short course. The course starts on Monday 29th October, please complete your application as soon as possible.

 

24/9/18

Please see the events page for updated details for the remainder of 2018.

 

The Treatment of Kidney Failure in New Zealand

Authors: Kelvin L Lynn, Adrian L Buttimore, Peter J Hatfield, Martin R Wallace

This book tells of the history of the treatment of people with kidney failure in New Zealand; beginning in the early 1950s this story encompasses remarkable experiences of patients and their families, and contributions made by dedicated health professionals. It also reveals the challenges and ethics of meeting an ever-increasing deamnd for treatment.

Dr Kelvin Lynn and his fellow editors tell us about the contribution of doctors, nurses, technicians and patients and their families to the story of kidney treatment in New Zealand. Social and political changes in our country since the 1950s have critically influenced the development of treatment services for New Zealanders with kidney failure. The improvements in technology and community expectations regarding access to treatment over the past 50 years are discussed as well as the issues for patients and families coming to terms with kidney failure and its treatment.

This story is illustrated with many anecdotes and historical photographs.

  • The experience of living a life with kidney failure is recounted from patient interviews. These stories are a testament to the bravery and determination of these individuals.
  • There are chapters devoted to the professional development of renal nurses and dialysis technicians who have played a key role in the progress made in kidney treatment. Nurses were important members of the early clinical teams who pioneered dialysis treatment. Now renal nursing is an established nursing specialty. Hospital technicians who maintained the early dialysis equipment quickly took up clinical roles, particularly in training patients for dialysis at home.
  • There is an account of the trends and statistics of dialysis treatment in the past and a chapter discussing where dialysis treatment may go in the future.

This book is available free of charge from the Kidney Health New Zealand website from the 16th of October 2018.

 

5/9/18

Save the dates for NZASRDP events for the remainder of 2018!!!

  • 14/9/18 NZASRDP board meeting - ADHB
  • 2/11/18 Education evening and official NZASRDP Australia launch - Coburg, Melbourne
  • 23/11/18 NZASRDP board meeting - Auckland (venue TBC)
  • 23/11/18 NZASRDP AGM and education evening (5-9pm) - Auckland (venue TBC)
  • 24/11/18 Renal pharmacology course, Manukau Institute of Technology - Manukau

Please note that the AGM and education evenings are open to all members and you are encouraged to attend.

 

Congratulations to new board members Sreeni Sharma (WDHB) and Rajeev Kumar (ADHB).

 

25/6/18

The 2018 RSA Conference was held in Adelaide last week. The event was a huge success with many renal health care professionals in attendance.

We were lucky enough to listen to keynote speaker Dr Gill Hicks who was injured in the London bombings in 2005. Gill's story was thought provoking, emotive and powerful. As well as the numerous invited speakers there were many individuals who had submitted abstracts for posters and presentations, 6 intensive workshops and a tour of the brand new $2.3 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The federal RSA conference for 2019 will be held in Auckland, June 27-29.

 

14/6/18

Welcome to the New Zealand and Australia Society of Renal Dialysis Practice Inc. website! We are still working on some elements but please have a look around as there are some exciting new functions. We will be keeping the website updated with all the latest news, CPD opportunities, and information important to our workforce, so please check back regularly.

It has been a very exciting year for the society. After member vote, a lot of work has gone into our change from NZBDP to NZASRDP. We officially changed our name in December 2017 and we now welcome our new members from Australia. Together we can strive to continue moving forwards in improving the care and lives of renal patients.

Applications for the Dave Lilley Memorial Education Scholarship close at the end of June. All financial members are eligible to apply for this annual scholarship of up to $1000NZD to be put towards professional educational opportunities. See the Scholarships/Grants section of the website under Training & Registration for further details.

Please remember that as the end of the financial year approaches, annual fees are nearly due. Keep you eyes on the website for details of how to pay 2018/19 fees.

We hope to see many of you at the RSA federal conference in Adelaide on June 21-23. As well as a good opportunity for CPD, the conference provides great networking and a lot of fun!

 

 

 


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