As medical students, we experienced first-hand the difficulties of learning kidney physiology. The passive teaching methods such as books and videos have been shown to pale in comparison to modern active based learning models. Specifically, an in-depth understanding of renal physiology is essential for the care of patients with kidney problems.
Chronic kidney disease is defined as the gradual loss of kidney function over a period of months to years. This can be due to primary or secondary dysfunction (ex. Diabetes or chronic hypertension). Chronic kidney disease affected about 300 million worldwide in 2015 and resulted in 1.2 million deaths. The primary intervention for chronic kidney disease is dialysis, which currently costs about $88,000/year for a patient to undergo dialysis, according to the United States Renal Data System (USRDS); that is about 60% more than what the average US household earns a year. This amounts to a total annual hemodialysis cost in the United States of $42 billion.
Preventative medicine is crucial in curbing this menace. However, there is a wide-ranging knowledge gap of renal physiology, which is essential for preventative care. We would like to address this issue by augmenting current passive-based teaching methods. Our application is based on an active simulation model in which healthcare students and professionals alike can effectively and efficiently learn renal physiology.
The target population of NephRun will be any health professionals or trainees interested in understanding renal physiology. In addition, this will serve as a device to bridge knowledge and communication gaps between physicians and patients as well. Currently, we have a mobile application that simulates the complex ion transfer within the nephron that is essential for body homeostasis, mechanisms of drug actions (ex. Diuretics), and an interactive educational section in which allows the user to test his/her knowledge.
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