Nephrology

Geisinger's Department of Nephrology is proud of the educational experiences it provides and is recognized as one of the top teaching departments within the division of medicine. The nephrology department consists of seven faculty members committed to delivering outstanding patient care while providing excellent educational experiences for medical students and residents. In addition, our nephrology fellows actively contribute to the education of rotating students and residents.

Goals & objectives

The medical student elective in nephrology promotes active participation on the nephrology inpatient consult service. During this rotation, a primary goal will be exposing the student to a busy consultation service. The student will be taught the skills required for a medical consultant, specifically, how to perform a nephrology inpatient evaluation and provide sound evidence-based recommendations. Students will be assigned patients on a daily basis and will be responsible for patient presentations to housestaff and attending physician. During daily rounds the students will be prepared to discuss all new clinical data relevant to the care of their patients such as vital signs, examination findings, fluid balance, laboratory results and the results of specialized tests.

The acquisition of an appropriate knowledge base in nephrology will also be a fundamental goal of the elective.
Relevant content objectives include:

• Parenchymal kidney disease
• Renal vasculitis
• The kidney in systemic disease
• Mechanisms for progression of chronic kidney disease
• Staging for chronic kidney disease
• Acid-base disorders
• Fluid and electrolyte disorders
• Acute and chronic renal failure
• Kidney stone disease
• Urinary tract infections
• Congenital renal anomalies
• Medications and the kidney
• Hypertension
• Dialysis therapies
• Interpretation of laboratory and imaging studies commonly used in the evaluation of kidney disorders

The student will acquire this knowledge base primarily through bedside and didactic teaching by nephrology attendings and fellows. This direct teaching is supplemented by numerous conferences occurring on a monthly basis within the Division of Medicine that students are strongly encouraged to attend.