Committee and Working Groups UpdateRenal Dietitians Professional Group
| Photo by Kwong Ng at BC Nephrology Days 2007. (www.kfphoto.com)
| A renal patient, Kwong says, "Renal Dietitians have the best smiles. As a patient, I appreciate the way each of my dietitians have care for my health and well being. It is always reassuring that my dietitian will always guide me toward the healthy food choices." The renal dietitians’ professional group has come along way from its origins in the mid 1980s when the group included just seven dietitians, all from the Lower Mainland. Today the group has 50 members from virtually every part of the province and meets by teleconference every month. One of the group’s most recent projects was coordinating development of intra-dialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN) guidelines for the province. IDPN is a method for providing nutrition for renal patients while on dialysis.
In 1994, the professional group developed provincial standards of nutritional care for pre-renal, PD and HD patients. The group has also produced dietitian staffing guidelines for renal units and for different treatment modalities, and established the criteria for the BCPRA’s nutritional supplements program. Renal dietitians assess patients who need supplements and then use the PROMIS database to manage them while on the program.
Another major project was standardizing nutritional information handouts for renal patients province-wide. The handouts are currently available from PROMIS and the group is now planning to have the handouts translated into a number of languages. The dietitians group is also currently working on provincial guidelines for mineral metabolism with the BCPRA’s Pharmacy & Formulary Committee. It is expected these guidelines will be completed within the next year. The group is also planning for the 2009 North West Renal Dietitians conference. This annual conference draws renal dietitians from Alberta, BC, Alaska, Washington and Oregon and is held in Vancouver every four years. |
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Copyright ©2007 BC Provincial Renal Agency. An Agency of the Provincial PHSA improves the health of British Columbians by seeking province-wide solutions to specialized health care needs in collaboration with BC health authorities and other partners. For more information, visit www.phsa.ca |
