Around the World of Nephrology Nursing
Beth Ulrich, EdD, RN, CHE, FAAN, Editor

As I reviewed the articles for this issue of the Nephrology Nursing Journal, I realized that they represented a trip around the world. We have articles from Canada, Europe, Iran, Australia, and across the United States. Not so long ago, it was a big deal and a big effort for us to communicate with nurses outside the United States. Now the internet goes everywhere and it’s as easy for me to work with authors on the other side of the world as it is for me to work with authors who are in my own town.

Two Nurses Change Practice Around the World
Paula Dutka, a member of the Nephrology Nursing Journal Editorial Board, and Liz Harmon are living proof that sharing experiences can stimulate discussion and change practice around the world. In the fall of 2006 at our NNJ Editorial Board meeting, as we discussed potential topics for future journal issues, Paula brought up a case of hidden hemolysis from her own dialysis unit in New York – a topic she thought needed to be communicated to nephrology nurses. The case had been a real learning experience for even the most expert nurses in her unit. At about the same time, Liz Harman submitted a case study of three cases of hidden hemolysis from her unit in Denver. We published both case studies (Harman & Dutka, 2007) in the March-April 2007 issue of NNJ.

Shortly after the publication, I received an email from Gareth Murcutt, the manager of the European Dialysis & Transplant Nurses (EDTNA)/European Renal Care Association (ERCA) Online Journal Club asking if I thought Paula and Liz would be interested in doing a journal club on their cases. I put the three of them together (all via the internet) and, in mid-2007, individuals from 10 different countries participated in the journal club. The journal club discussion was published in the EDTNA/ERCA Journal of Renal Care in December, 2007 and a reprint is included in this issue of NNJ along with Paula’s first-hand account of the experience (see pp. 45- 50). From two nurses in units in the United States came a stimulating and practice-changing discussion – all because they both chose to share their experiences in print!

Learning from Nephrology Nurses Internationally
The experience Paula and Liz had is just the beginning of our world tour in this issue. Anita Molzahn and her colleagues from Victoria, BC, Canada share their research on learning from stories of people with CKD (see pp. 13-20). Abolfazl Rahimi, who is a nursing PhD candidate in Iran, and colleagues describe the effects of a continuous care model on depression, anxiety, and stress in patients on hemodialysis (see pp. 39-43). Paul Bennett and Jane Neill from Australia ask provocative questions about what nurses focus on and what we should focus on in determining the quality of care of our patients (see pp. 33-37). From the United States, Tricia McCarley and Marty Arjomand discuss mineral and bone disorders (see pp. 59-64) and Deb Hain helps us understand cognitive function and adherence in older adults (see pp. 23-29).

The World of Nephrology Nursing
We often get so wrapped up in our own unit, neighborhood, city, state, or country that it’s easy to forget that nephrology nursing exists almost everywhere and that the work we do and the knowledge we share can indeed make a difference to nephrology nurses and nephrology patients around the world. Information can travel from one side of the globe to another almost instantly when nurses are willing to share their knowledge and experience. We have the abilities and the technologies to make it happen. The only limits are those we choose to put on ourselves.

Reference
Harman, E., & Dutka, P. (2008). Hemolysis: A hidden danger. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 34(2), 219-224.

Beth Ulrich, EdD, RN, FACHE, FAAN
Editor
E-mail: BethUlrich@aol.com