Teaching and training acute renal replacement therapy in children

Background. The objective of this study is to describe and analyse the initial experience in paediatric acute renal replacement therapy (ARRT) education by means of specific courses. Methods. Three paediatric ARRT courses were run. The course programme included initial and final multiple-choice question (MCQ) exams, short lectures, practical workshops [in vitro peritoneal dialysis (PD) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) machines skill stations, real-time PD and CRRT in paediatric animal models and paediatric CRRT advanced simulation scenarios based on real cases) and an anonymous survey on the perceived value of the course (score from 0: very bad to 10: perfect). Number of students per workshop was six to eight. Continuous assessment of participants’ performance was done. Results. In the initial MCQ, only 11% of students answered correctly at least 70% of questions, while in the final test, 90.5% hit this target (P < 0.001). In the performance assessments, all of the students demonstrated sufficient acquisition of practical skills. In the perceived value survey, the course methodology was rated at 9.3, organization 9.9, teaching staff 9.6, lectures 9 and practical sessions 9.1. Conclusions. Specifically designed CRRT and PD courses are adequate for teaching the theoretical aspects and training these procedures. The combination of laboratory, training with animals and advanced simulation scenarios might have a synergistic effect on learning.