Kidney palliative care is a growing subspecialty of clinical practice, education, and research in nephrology. It is an essential aspect of care for patients across the continuum of advanced kidney disease who have high symptom burden, multidimensional communication needs, and limited life expectancy. ⋯ At this time, a minority of nephrologists pursue formal fellowship training in specialty palliative care. This article will discuss opportunities and challenges in building a skilled workforce that will address the palliative needs of patients living with advanced kidney disease.
Samantha L Gelfand, Jane Schell, and Nwamaka D Eneanya.
Division of Palliative Care & Geriatric Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Harvard ... more Medical School, Boston, MA. Electronic address: SLGelfand@mgh.harvard.edu. less