2. Renal Week 2005's Call for Abstracts
It's time to submit your abstracts for Renal Week 2005, which will take place from November 8-13 in Philadelphia, PA. All abstracts must be submitted electronically through the ASN website by Wednesday, June 15, 2005, 11:59 pm CT at www.asn-online.org. The ASN is no longer accepting paper submissions. Abstracts received after June 15 will not be accepted or reviewed. No exceptions will be made. To submit an abstract, simply create a user name and password the first time you enter the abstract site. You may complete your abstract submission on your first visit or return to the site, by using the user name and password you previously created.
Abstracts must be submitted or sponsored by an active ASN member (dues paid through December 2005).
An ASN Membership ID will be required for submission, which can be found on any mailing label from ASN/JASN or by contacting us at email@asn-online.org. Allow sufficient time to obtain the membership ID from the sponsor if the presenting author is not a member of the ASN. ASN members must renew their membership and new ASN members must join by Friday, June 3, 2005 to be eligible to submit without sponsorship.
While not all abstracts are accepted for presentation in an oral or poster session, all abstracts are published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). New this year, the presenting author will have the option to remove an abstract from publication if it is not chosen for presentation. To request removal of your abstract from the 2005 Abstract Supplement, only if your publication is not chosen for presentation, you must check a box during your online submission on the “Publication and Submit Info” page of the submission site, which states, “Please do not publish my abstract in Renal Week 2005's Abstract Supplement of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, if my presentation is not selected for poster or free communication.”
For additional information on submission, distribution, and presentation of abstracts, please review your mailed copy of the “Call for Abstracts” or visit the ASN website at www.asn-online.org.
Stay tuned to your mailbox in June for a copy of our Preliminary Program, which will include registration, housing, and program information, or visit the ASN website in mid-June for details at www.asn-online.org.
3. Stay Tuned- 10th Annual Board Review Course & Update
Stay tuned later this month for information on this year's 10th Anniversary Celebration of our Annual BRC from August 27 – September 2, 2005! The ASN's Board Review Course & Update has become a “Renal Rite of Passage” and can be customized to meet your specific needs! The timing of the ASN Board Review Course & Update in late August maximizes attendees' readiness for the October Nephrology Board certification and recertification examinations of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). After completion of the course and the self-assessment test on September 2, participants have a full two months to fill in any gaps in their knowledge. It's August, It's San Francisco , So it must be the ASN's Board Review Course!
4. Continuing Medical Education (CME) Official Transcript Online
The ASN's pleased to announce that you now have access to your own Official Transcript for CME activities sponsored by the ASN, directly through the ASN website. This process takes just a few minutes. Simply follow the instructions below:
- Click here to access your Official Transcript.
- Log in to ASN's "access only" area. Enter your Last Name and assigned User ID (for ASN members this is your ASN Member ID).
- You will now see a list of your activities. You may sort by any blue/underlined word to help you categorize the information.
- You may also type in specific dates at the top of the screen to limit the credits displayed to a specific date range.
- To print a copy of your transcript, use your browser's "print" feature.
The following credits are already available: Board Review Course (2001-2004), NephSAP (2002-2003), Regional Meetings (2004-2005), and Renal Week (2004).
5. Call for Nominations
The Council for the American Society of Nephrology is again seeking nominations for open positions on ASN standing committees and advisory groups. Nominations must be submitted no later than Wednesday, May 25, 2005.
The Council invites all ASN members to indicate their interest in serving on an ASN standing committee or advisory group. You may also nominate another ASN member for committee participation. Much of the work of ASN is accomplished through the energetic activity and input of committees, so this is a great way for you to become involved in future planning and decisions that will influence the effectiveness and quality of membership services offered to all ASN members.
ASN's website, www.asn-online.org, provides additional information about each of the ASN committees and advisory groups, including current members, the committee's charge, membership criteria and terms of appointments. Committee membership becomes effective with each year's Annual Meeting. In addition, there is a Council and a Staff liaison listed for each committee, either of whom can be contacted for additional information or clarification on committee activities and responsibilities.
Please think carefully about your interest in the areas listed below, and forward nominations and a current CV of the nominee to Karen L. Campbell, PhD, ASN Executive Director at kcampbell@asn-online.org no later than Wednesday, May 25, 2005.
Committees for which ASN is seeking new members are listed below; descriptions for each committee are available by clicking on the appropriate committee.
Awards Committee
Homer Smith Award Committee
Young Investigator Award Committee
Basic Science Committee
Clinical Science Committee
Grants Review Committee
Policy and Public Affairs Committee
Renal Informatics Committee
Acute Renal Failure Advisory Group
Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group
Dialysis Advisory Group
Hypertension Advisory Group
Transplant Advisory Group
6. Annual HRSA Transplant Data Report Released
The use of kidneys with higher risks of long-term failure as a result of donor age and medical history has continued to grow in response to an organ shortage. According to the newly released 14th Annual Report on Transplant Data from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 7,000 of the over 86,000 patients waiting for an organ transplant died in 2003. In the same year, doctors used expanded criteria donor kidneys (ECD) in 16% of all kidney transplants, up from 15% in 2002 and 11% in 1994. In 2003, the number of donors after cardiac death reached 271— nearly 90 more than in 2002 and over 200 more than in 1994.
The report, which summarizes organ transplantation data from 1994 to 2003, suggests that the number of patients awaiting organs continues to rise faster than the number of organs transplanted. In 2003, doctors in the United States transplanted more than 25,000 organs, with just over 70% from deceased donors and the rest from living donors. The full report is available at the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's websites, www.ustransplant.org and www.optn.org; free CD-ROMs of the report may be ordered at either site.
7. New Fistula First Website
The Forum of ESRD announces a new educational website for the National Vascular Access Improvement Initiative
– FISTULA FIRST at www.fistulafirst.org. The new website strives to exceed the K/DOQI™ recommendations for A-V fistulas in hemodialysis patients.
Having a successful vascular access is a major contributor to patient well-being.
The site offers information on tools and resources, as well as contact information for each of the ESRD Network organizations who partner with providers to improve care. The site also provides a link to a video training program developed by Dr. William Jennings and Dr. Lawrence Spergel for surgeons and interventionalists hosted on the University of Oklahoma's continuing medical education website; 10.5 AMA/PRA Category 1 credits are available. Developers of the website are hopeful that the renal community will visit the site frequently and find it useful in their efforts to improve AV fistulas rates.
