July News

“UKKW is a great opportunity to meet and catch-up with cross-professional colleagues from across the UK. I always find it exciting and motivating to see the great work that is happening in kidney care and it is also a fantastic way to get involved in projects or to take ideas back to your own areas. Submitting an abstract or session proposal, although it might feel daunting, is easy to do and allows you to showcase your work as well as network and gain feedback from peers across the spectrum of kidney disease. I have had nothing but positive experiences at Kidney Week since first attending in 2018 and it has given me opportunities to expand my confidence and progress my career. The session content is constantly expanding and offers a lot to the MDT. There are also many opportunities to get involved through being on the programme committee, chairing sessions or moderating posters. There is so much support on offer to allow people to build new skills and meet new people. I would highly recommend attending.”

“The conference provides an opportunity to share learning and to find out what other units are doing that we might be able to bring back to our units. For example, I have been in touch with a unit who introduced a checklist for transplant referrals which improved the pathway by ensuring all the relevant information was obtained prior to referral, simple but effective. It allowed some of my team and myself to showcase the work that we have been doing which is a good opportunity for learning, development, and a moral boost. Since presenting I have been approached by a journal to submit an article and the RCN to participate in a webinar about reducing inequalities. It feels like an inclusive conference with a great range of MDT sessions. It also allows some time away from the busy day to day to take a step back and reflect, re-focus and re-energise!”

“UKKW is an opportunity to learn about new research and clinical practice innovation. By networking with and hearing from others you realise action points you can take. It can be reassuring to hear other units talk about similar audits/projects to those you’re working on, too! It makes you realise that all research, quality improvement projects or service development can be presented, and we should take the opportunity to share the good work we do in our units. There are probably many projects that people could learn from but somehow are yet to be shared…!

As someone with a predominately clinical role, it can be easy to forget that projects we do in our day-to-day job are good learning for others. 

UKKW is fun and you get to meet people you’ve have worked with in the past. If you are new to renal, then there is always likely to be others from your unit going, so there will be familiar faces and there’s opportunity to make new contacts. The days can be packed, so you will never be bored and there is a social event one evening if you wish to go.

This UKKW I did an oral presentation about patient involvement in a multicultural project I was involved in. I was invited by a nursing colleague,  Prof Nicki Thomas, who was putting together the session. Nicki was aware of our project from other conferences and other work I have done within renal.

I am fortunate that my manager allowed me study leave to attend. A UKKA grant then enabled me to attend without having to finance it myself. As our Trust normally only funds course/conference costs, it is great to have access to these grants via the UKKA as it covered the complete cost of accommodation in Edinburgh. A travel grant from the British Dietetic Association then allowed me to subsidise my travel cost.”

“UKKW is a great opportunity to find out about the latest research in renal, hear about practice around the country, network with the full MDT and of course share and showcase the great work we are doing in London. 

I have been lucky enough to attend several times and always come away with new learning and feeling inspired. If you have not done so before I would encourage you to submit an abstract.  Initially I felt that I would not have anything to share as we were not undertaking research, however after attending my first conference I realised that many of the posters reported on audits, small service developments or evaluations and we could easily share our practice and experience.  We had a great multiprofessional representation from London in Edinburgh this year.  

Next year UKKW is in Bournemouth, now is the time to start thinking about collecting data and sharing the good work you are doing!  Abstract submission will be later this year.  If you are a member of the UKKA and are a nurse or AHP, you can apply for a UKKA bursary which covers the cost of registration and accommodation.”

“Attending the UK Kidney Week as a project manager was incredibly enriching. 

I learned a lot and was overwhelmed by the volume of information. 

Most of the presentations I attended, I deliberately picked the ones relevant to the projects I’m working on and found them all very exciting. 

The sessions offered deep insights into piloting projects to advance and improve kidney care, which is invaluable for what we’re doing in London. 

I highly recommend this event to anyone involved in kidney care.”