ASN Presidential Address 2014: moving past nephrology's midlife crisis.

Abstract

Building New Paths to Kidney Health represents the reality of what we must do to reinvigorate our specialty for the next generation. We need to work together to overcome many of the challenges we face as caregivers, scientists, and educators committed to people with kidney disease. We need to build new paths to kidney health. We need to diagnose early to develop preventive strategies so we can offer hope at screenings, not fear. We need to identify those at highest risk for progression to kidney failure so we target the right patients for clinical trials and ensure success of our innovative therapies. We need to understand how even mild episodes of AKI can accelerate progression. We need to recognize that dialysis, while lifesaving, does not confer a high quality of life. We need to determine how everyone can have a kidney transplant without an agonizing wait. We need to improve care delivery across the spectrum of our patients’ needs, with special attention at emotionally trying times, such as at dialysis initiation and a patient’s end of life. The challenges can seem overwhelming.