Champions of Kidney Care

Creative approaches to kidney care in medicine, nursing and public health from Adtalem faculty and alumni.

In the United States, more than one in seven adults have chronic kidney disease. It’s ninth on the list of leading causes of death. Like so many health problems, it is not immune to disparities. It’s more common in Black than white adults.

Across the Adtalem Global Education community, alumni and faculty are working in medicine, nursing, public health and other disciplines to make an impact through advocacy, hands-on instruction and research.

Advocating for Kidney Health Nationally

A career in kidney health has taken Dr. Mark Rosenberg around the world as president of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), to the White House for an executive order, and to American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) where he brings his experience to students as dean.

As president of ASN, he was one of the leaders advocating for the Advancing American Kidney Health Executive Order that was signed in 2019. It had three goals: prevention through better diagnosis and treatment, more affordable treatment options, and improved access to transplants.

During that time, I met with Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, whose agency oversees the payment system for end-stage kidney disease. The signing of this executive order really changed the landscape of care for people with kidney disease.

Patient-Centered Kidney Care

“The life of someone on dialysis is hard. You’re either going to a dialysis unit for hours three times a week or doing dialysis in your home,” Dr. Rosenberg says of the more than 500,000 people on dialysis in the United States. “Patients should be informed of what are all the options. Then they should have a major role in deciding which fits best with their families.”

Medical students at AUC start learning that early.

One way they do this is through monthly community engagement days that AUC hosts, which include screenings for blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, which is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease.

Opportunities for Nurses in Nephrology

For pre-licensure students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, it’s easy to miss nephrology as a career path.

Traditional nursing education is focused on getting students ready to be generalists who can sit for boards and get licensed,

says Dr. Kristi Ricord, visiting professor at Chamberlain University and national senior director of nursing at DaVita Kidney Care.

Over time, what we’ve seen is those nurses typically go into the hospital setting, not specialties.

To give undergraduate nursing students the opportunity for early exposure to nephrology, Chamberlain offers the Practice Ready. Specialty Focused.^TM program in partnership with DaVita, one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the United States.

After completing an online course, students get hands-on opportunities in a clinical experience with DaVita nurses. They participate in dialysis treatment, interdisciplinary team meetings, and spend time with dieticians and social workers.

That hands-on experience gives them invaluable insight into the career path that they might otherwise not have. Dr. Ricord wants them to see what she loves about the profession.

“The connection we make with our patients and their loved ones is incredibly fulfilling. You can be a very critical, pivotal point of influence in a positive way,” she says. “Plus, when you think about career growth, opportunities for leadership, education, innovation, and advanced practice, we have it all in nephrology.”

Kidney Disease and Mental Health

Kidney disease affects the mind as well as the body, and the social determinants of health play a significant role. Omatola Gordon-Rose, DrPh ’23, focused on this for her Walden University dissertation, “Chronic Kidney Disease and Depressive Disorders Among Adult Non-Hispanic African Americans and Whites in Georgia.” In her research, she found that individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at significantly higher risk for developing major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder.

This increased risk stems from the chronic and progressive nature of CKD, which requires patients to manage ongoing physical symptoms, adhere to complex treatment regimens, and cope with the uncertainty of their prognosis. The physical and emotional burdens of the disease often lead to feelings of helplessness, isolation, and frustration, which exacerbate mental health issues.

The mental health risks are worse when CKD patients aren’t yet on dialysis according to her research. Their depression rates were three times higher than the general population.

“The relationship between CKD and mental health is cyclical,” she adds. “Depression can impede adherence to treatment plans, making it harder for patients to manage their CKD, which in turn exacerbates physical symptoms and further damages mental well-being.”

She advocates for integrating mental health care into kidney treatment as a way to achieve better outcomes.

Kidney Disease and Health Equity

Dr. Gordon-Rose also found that social determinants of health played an important role in kidney health and treatment disparities. One key measure of this was her finding that non-Hispanic Black individuals in Georgia face disproportionately higher rates of CKD and depressive disorders compared to non-Hispanic white individuals.

Kidney Disease and Public Health

Dr. Gordon-Rose's Doctor of Public Health degree paved the way for impactful roles as a federal contractor for leading health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. She is also founder and CEO of OGR Public Health & Career Counseling.

At the CDC, she helped manage chronic disease prevention programs including the High Obesity Program and Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health. She also led a $14 million initiative at the Susan G. Komen Foundation to reduce breast cancer disparities among Black women, leveraging Walden’s focus on systemic solutions to achieve measurable reductions in health inequities.

Learn more about how Adtalem is Championing Care.

For more information, email the Adtalem Global Communications Team: adtalemmedia@adtalem.com.