2013 Symposium Program Highlights

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Workshops | General Sessions | Concurrent Session Tracks

2013 Workshops

Workshops presented by Fresenius Medical Care and MarCor Purification provide opportunities for technicians to gain in-depth knowledge about each company's products and dialysis services.

There is a $15 charge to attend these workshops, which includes refreshment breaks (but not lunch). To ensure your participation, you must register in advance.

Workshops begin at 8:00 am and end by 4:00 pm, with a break for lunch. All workshops offer a full day of education and up to 7.0 contact hours. Space is limited – register NOW!

• Machine Troubleshooting – David Carlson, CBET, Fresenius Medical Care, NA
  • This workshop will provide insight into how to troubleshoot the Fresenius dialysis machines and review of common problems and how to avoid having them happen.
• Water Purification for Dialysis – Richard Benner, CWSIII, Mar Cor
  • Industry trends that impact dialysis will be discussed including: impact of new ISO standards for water, components of a typical water treatment system, new advances in water purification, the use of heat for disinfection, will be covered. How water quality plays an essential role in these new trends will be reviewed.

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General Sessions

Tuesday

• Taking Care of the Patient – Lori Hartwell
  • NANT is delighted to welcome back Lori Hartwell to our symposium. Lori Hartwell has made a difference in the lives of people with chronic kidney disease. She is the model of living a fulfilling life despite chronic illness. A kidney patient since age two, having survived 40 plus surgeries, 13 years of dialysis and now living with her fourth kidney transplant, Lori founded the patient-led Renal Support Network in 1993 to instill "health, happiness, and hope" into the lives of fellow patients.
• Dialysis Technology – Impact on Delivered Prescription – Joe Johnston, Sr. VP, Biomedical Services and Technology Integration, Fresenius Medical Care NA
  • When you enter a prescription into a dialysis machine, do you know exactly what the patient will receive? Errors, random variations and design details about how devices and disposables used all affect the delivered prescription. This session will explore examples and discuss how you, the dialysis technician, can better control the delivery of the prescription to your patient.
• Emergency Preparedness
  • If you had any doubts of the impact of an emergency on your clinic, you won't after you hear real-life stories from dialysis technicians who struggled to provide dialysis to their patients during Hurricane Sandy, tornadoes, and other emergencies. What you learn in this session will make you a valuable member of your clinic's emergency preparedness team.
• Taking Yourself to the Next Level – Anthony Messana, Executive Director – Renal Services, St. Joseph Hospital
  • The dialysis profession has many opportunities for dialysis technicians. NANT members who started as technicians are choosing a wide range of career paths that build on their dialysis technology expertise. Learn how you can chart your course to the next level in your profession.

Thursday

• Interactive Teambuilding – Janet Mlodzikowski, RN, BSN, CNN, CCM, Clinical Educator, Wellspan
  • Technicians know the value of teamwork – but what do you do when your team isn't working? This session will provide you with specific ideas and techniques to ensure your team is effective.
• Home Modalities – Dori Schatell, MS, Executive Director, Medical Education Institute
  • Dialysis at home is not the same as in the clinic – and, how can your clinic benefit from having patients dialyze at home? Learn both in this informative session.
• When Disaster Comes to YOUR Clinic
  • So many technicians have dealt with natural disasters this year. This interactive session will give us a chance to learn from each other and share the small successes of providing the life-saving dialysis treatments under very difficult situations. You won't want to miss this affirming session!

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Wednesday Concurrent Session Tracks

Clinical

• Shopping for Care – Sizzlin' Sun NANT Chapter
  • Everyone loves to shop, but if you had to shop for items that would make for a fabulous work day and great experience would your list of ingredients match up to that of our patients? Come shop with us, literally, and check out ways to combine the ingredients on our lists, and those of our patients to create the perfect recipe for a happy work environment! Come on down to the Sizzlin' Sun Store! No value cards needed to walk away with our daily deals, and we offer a freshness guarantee on innovative outlooks!
• Interventional Access from the Floor – Aslam Perez, MD, Interventional Nephrologist and Medical Director, Southwest Kidney Institute
  • If you have ever wondered what goes through the mind of a Nephrologist when he/she is rounding in our facilities assessing the access' of our patients, here is your chance to find out!  This session is led by Interventional Nephrologist Dr. Aslam Pervez, MD and will provide invaluable insight regarding the red flags and signs that would indicate further access evaluation may be required.  Timely and appropriate intervention for vascular access is critical for our patients, so join us and add key information to your arsenal of access knowledge.
• PD Quick Starts – Janett Hartley,RN, Facility Administrator, Home Dialysis
  • Moving into the future, the culture of dialysis is increasingly carving out new territory.  Chronic Hemodialysis is moving aside from center stage and saying good bye to the days of being a solo headliner.  Home modalities are increasingly becoming more prevalent as the patients choice of therapy.  Learn how peritoneal dialysis urgent starts are just one of the many ways home modalities are moving up to share the stage as the new headliners in town.
• QAPI and Technicians – You CAN Make a Difference – Teri Spencer, RN, TB Spencer Consulting LLC
  • The new CMS survey has a significant component of Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement, including a QAPI survey tool for the review of the facility program. While traditionally technicians have not had a primary role in the QAPI program in their facility, now CMS expects ALL facilities to include technicians in the QAPI activities. This session will help you best prepare for these new responsibilities.

Biomedical

• Role and Evolution of AAMI/ANSI Standards for Dialysis Fluids – Vern Taaffe, President, RPC
  • The need for hemodialysis fluids has led to the development of AAMI dialysis standards, which CMS has adopted. This session will discuss the evolution of this process and the implementation of the new ISO harmonized AAMI dialysis standards.
• Unusual Event Investigations – Brooks Rogers, VP Biomedical Support Services, Fresenius Medical Care
  • What, Who, When, How, Why – Protecting the patient, and collecting data and materials for investigating root cause.
• The Ins and Outs of Water Testing in Dialysis – Impact on Patient Care: A New AAMI TIR – Jo-Ann Maltais, PhD, Maltais Consulting
  • The AAMI Renal Disease and Detoxification Committee is currently working on a Technical Information Report (TIR) to help dialysis professionals understand the contaminants in water and their impact on dialysis. It aims to describe the hemodialysis patient symptoms associated with exposure to the contaminant and the effects of these contaminants if not removed on the water treatment systems and downstream equipment. Lastly it describes various detection methods or test(s) used to measure the contaminants and the problems associated with the testing including interferences that can lead to invalid results.
• Technical Implications for the Extracorporeal Circuit – Brooks Rogers, VP Biomedical Support Services, Fresenius Medical Care
  • How the system interfaces with the machine. What is measured by the machine and what is not. Changes in performance parameters of the extracorporeal circuit.
• How to Build an Effective Biomed Training Program – Scott Gilliland, DaVita and Heather Paradis, Fresenius Medical Care
  • Your facility administrator looks to you to design a training program for new biomedical technicians. What's important to cover? In what order should ideas be presented? This session will help you respond to this challenge – or help to inform the individual at your facility who is in charge of your training program.
• Oh, No! My Water Broke! Problems That Leave Your Clinic All Wet – Richard Benner, CWSIII and Robert McMullen, MarCor Purification
  • When water systems fail, it impacts your dialysis clinic in many ways. We'll look at the common failures and how to ensure the patients are not negatively impacted.
• DIY: When You HAVE To Do It Yourself!
  • Tips and techniques you should use when making plumbing or basic electrical repairs to your water system.

Professional Development

• What's My Type? Understanding Personality Preferences in the Workplace – Andrea Weiss, MS, NCC, MCC
  • Why doesn't everyone use a to-do list? Why do some people always seem to be having fun? Why does a sudden change of plans make me feel uncomfortable? And what does personality have to do with all this? A lot!
  • In this workshop you will discover your personality type and gain insight into how personality preferences impact your interactions with patients, co-workers, supervisors and administrators. By completing the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and engaging in fun and insightful activities, you'll discover how your personality impacts your communication style, your decision-making processes, and your contributions to the team. You will be able to immediately apply what you've learned to improve your work and personal life, as you gain a better understanding of yourself and begin to appreciate the differences in others.
  • Note: Participants must commit to the entire three hour workshop. You will not be able to join the workshop after the first session.

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(Page last updated on 01/15/12)