In This Issue...
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October President's Message
Dr. DuBose discusses exciting programming features of the upcoming Renal Week in San Diego.
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Renal Week 2006 Housing Deadline: Friday, October 13
The deadline to reserve your housing for Renal Week is
Friday, October 13, 2006.
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ASN's Program and Abstracts-on-Line is Now Available
The ASN is pleased to announce that our Renal Week 2006 Abstracts-on-Line is now available online through the ASN website.
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ASN Seeks Assistant PGE Director- Board Review Course
The ASN is seeking an individual to assist the Society's Director of Education, Dr. Paul Kimmel, with the development and execution of the Society's annual Board Review Course and Update.
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ASN Seeks Assistant PGE Director- Renal Week and Regional Renal WeekEnd Meetings
The ASN is seeking an individual who will assist the Society's Director of Education, Dr. Paul Kimmel, in the development and execution of portions of the annual Renal Week program and the recently developed Renal WeekEnd Programs.
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New Discount Dues Program for ASN and ACP
The ASN and the American College of Physicians (ACP) have a signed agreement which will provide for a 10% dues discount (for those paying full membership fees) for individuals who are members of both the ASN and the ACP.
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Continuing Medical Education (CME) Evaluation and Credit Online
The ASN is pleased to offer you an online method of entering your evaluation responses and claiming CME credit for ASN educational programs.
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NephSAP Examinations Online
As part of ASN's new Online CME Center, beginning with the November 2006 issue, the examination questions can be answered online or submitted by mail using the scannable form printed with each issue.
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Attend ISN's World Congress of Nephrology, April 21- 25, 2007, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Submit your abstract and Save on Early Registration Fees before December 15, 2006!
Dear Colleagues:
This month, I wanted to provide you with some additional information about the exciting activities taking place at Renal Week, scheduled to occur November 14-19 in San Diego, California. The enthusiastic and innovative members of the 2006 Program Committee, under the direction of Lisa M. Guay-Woodford, MD, have developed an extraordinary meeting.
In response to a post-Renal Week survey of the ASN membership, the 2006 Program Committee has made further adjustments to increase the effectiveness of these sessions. This year, a number of abstracts will be presented in 51 Free Communications (FC) sessions. The time allotted for each presentation will be increased to 12 minutes: 7 minutes for the formal presentation and 5 minutes for questions. This revised format can accommodate more than 500 FCs and will encourage crisp presentation of the data, while enhancing the opportunity for thoughtful discussion.
I am also pleased to report that we have added a new programmatic innovation, Poster Discussion Sessions, to include 62 abstracts that were selected for presentations in 6 dynamic and interactive sessions. These Poster Discussion Sessions will present some of Renal Week's most exciting original science, by featuring senior investigators summarizing the key findings described in each selected abstract. The moderators will also lead an interactive discussion engaging the presenters, the senior investigators for each study, and the audience. All authors will take questions during these two-hour sessions. The posters presented in the Poster Discussion Sessions will be exhibited in designated rooms adjacent to the Exhibit Hall. In order to allow maximum viewing opportunities for the meeting participants, the ASN will also exhibit these posters in the appropriate standard Poster Session that will be held the following day.
Also new this year, the ASN is displaying select posters from NIH-funded multi-center clinical trials in our Exhibit Hall. These posters are intended to assist with the recruitment and enrollment of patients to the study. Visit the Exhibit Hall for additional details on these posters!
The program provides several special sessions, including a guest State-of-the-Art Lecture, which will be given by Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, Director, National Institutes of Health on Friday, November 17 from 10:15 am -11:45 am. The title of Dr. Zerhouni's session will be “Kidney Disease Research within the NIH Roadmap: Strategies for the Future.” Another interesting session will be the “President's Special Symposium: Disasters and Nephrology: Lessons from Katrina,” taking place on Sunday, November 19 from 10:00 am -12:00 pm. This session will serve to provide strategies for proactive responses to future disaster challenges.
Rudolph Jaenisch, MD, Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a State-of-the-Art lecturer at Renal Week, was recently honored by induction into The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Jaenisch's presentation on Saturday morning at the annual meeting is entitled, “Stem Cells, Cloning, and Therapy: Promise, Problems, Reality.” This presentation promises to be one of the highlights of the program this year.
To learn more about the many exciting sessions taking place at Renal Week, please visit the ASN website at www.asn-online.org.
Sincerely yours,
Tom DuBose
2. Renal Week 2006 Housing Deadline: Friday, October 13
The deadline to reserve your housing for Renal Week is
Friday, October 13, 2006.
In order to receive a housing reservation confirmation, the ASN Housing Bureau must receive your reservation request by Friday, October 13, 2006. Once you submit your reservation, you will receive an acknowledgment from the ASN Housing Bureau either by fax, email, or mail within 10 days.
To reserve your housing directly online, please click here.
3. ASN's Program and Abstracts-on-Line is Now Available
The ASN is pleased to announce that our Renal Week 2006 Abstracts-on-Line is now available online through the ASN website at www.asn-online.org. The Program and Abstracts-On-Line includes the complete program and submitted abstracts for Renal Week 2006. You may also click here to access the Program and Abstracts-on-Line.
As in years past, the Abstracts Supplement to JASN will be distributed onsite in San Diego and all members who cannot attend Renal Week will receive their copy by mail after the conclusion of the meeting in November.
4. ASN Seeks Assistant PGE Director- Board Review Course
The ASN is seeking an individual to assist the Society's Director of Education, Dr. Paul Kimmel, with the development and execution of the Society's annual Board Review Course and Update. The Assistant Director would participate in planning the course content, suggest changes in format, aid in the selection and recruitment of faculty and in the development of the syllabus. This individual would also deliver some of the lectures and serve as moderator for a portion of the course. Another responsibility would be to assist in seeking sponsorship and raising funds for the program.
The time commitment for this position involves attendance at the week-long BRC and telephone and email discussions with the Director, faculty and staff throughout the year as required for finalizing the annual program. The assistant will be expected to work together with the Renal Week Assistant Director. (This position is part-time, estimated at 5-15% FTE.)
Compensation will be commensurate with the applicant's experience and the anticipated time required for course development.
Interested parties should submit their curriculum vitae and a covering letter that describes their previous experience in medical education. Submit to Karen Campbell at kcampbell@asn-online.org. The deadline for applications is October 31, 2006.
5. ASN Seeks Assistant PGE Director-
Renal Week and Regional Renal WeekEnd Meetings
The ASN is seeking an individual who will assist the Society's Director of Education, Dr. Paul Kimmel, in the development and execution of portions of the annual Renal Week program and the recently developed Renal WeekEnd Programs. The Assistant Director will work with the Director and ASN staff in developing the content, faculty, syllabi and support for the various portions of the program. The Assistant Director will have an active and visible role at Renal Week and at the Renal Weekend Programs.
The time commitment entails attendance at Renal Week, the planned one day PGE Committee meeting that is held once or twice per year in Washington D.C, as well as regional meetings, conference calls and emails required for program development, recruitment and support. The assistant will be expected to work together with the Board Review Course Assistant Director. (This position is part-time, estimated at 5-15% FTE.)
Compensation will be commensurate with the applicant's experience and the projected required time commitment.
Interested parties should send their curriculum vitae and a cover letter describing experience in medical education to Karen Campbell at kcampbell@asn-online.org. The deadline for applications is October 31, 2006.
6. New Discount Dues Program for ASN and ACP
The ASN and the American College of Physicians (ACP) have a signed agreement which will provide for a 10% dues discount (for those paying full membership fees) for individuals who are members of both the ASN and the ACP. This discount will go into effect with the 2007 membership year, which launches in January 2007 for the ASN and July 2007 for the ACP.
Stay tuned to your mailbox in late December for your ASN Membership Renewal Form, which will include this special discount opportunity.
7. Continuing Medical Education (CME) Evaluation and Credit Online
The ASN is pleased to offer you an online method of entering your evaluation responses and claiming CME credit for ASN educational programs. Among other helpful features you will find listed below, ASN's Online CME Center will enable you to track and manage all of your CME credits for both ASN and non-ASN activities directly online. Paper evaluation forms will no longer be necessary for obtaining your CME credits.
The New ASN CME Center Offers:
- Access to the award-winning CE Medicus CME library – containing over 9,000 hours of FREE CME activities in a variety of program formats
- A fully-indexed, searchable CME catalog – find activities quickly by keyword, topic, disease, disorder and more!
- Online tools to track and manage your online continuing medical education and professional development
- Automated grading - submit your CME posttest/evaluation online for instantaneous grading and online certificates. Certificates issued via the CME Center will appear in your ASN transcript within 12 to 16 weeks.
- A CME Center transcript that allows you to print duplicate certificates and transcript reports for activities completed in the CME Center.
- Licensure tracking tools to track your completion of CME Center activities vs the time remaining in your licensure period. Multiple states of licensure can be tracked via this tool.
The CE Medicus Library is provided to you through an educational grant from Merck & Co. Inc.
8. NephSAP Examinations Online
As part of ASN's new Online CME Center, beginning with the November 2006 issue, the examination questions can be answered online or submitted by mail using the scannable form printed with each issue. The online process will be available through a link on the ASN homepage (www.asn-online.org). The login procedure for members is unchanged.
A summary of the benefits of taking the examination online include:
- Waiver of the $15 mail-in charge;
- The examination score is provided in “real-time”;
- Participants can retake the examination at any time during the CME credit eligible period;
- A summary of the answers to the questions can be printed out upon successfully passing the examination; and
- A CME certificate is instantly available.
Please stay tuned for additional details!
9. Attend ISN's World Congress of Nephrology, April 21- 25, 2007, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Submit your abstract and Save on Early Registration Fees before December 15, 2006!
It is now time to submit your abstract and benefit from early registration discounted fees to join your colleagues and peers for four and a half days of unforgettable Renal Insights and Opportunities facilitating the exchange and debate of critical medical information and ideas in a spectacular setting.
Incorporating a wide range of pre-meeting sessions, invited contributions, free communications, plenary and state-of-the art special lectures, post-congress satellite symposia, CNEs, poster sessions, and much more, the WCN 2007 has something for everyone.
To submit your abstract, register today and learn more about the science, the people and the topics that will make Rio the place to be next April, please visit the WCN 2007 website, www.wcn2007.org.
