In an effort to teach all health care professionals about issues related to transplantation, the United Network for Organ Sharing and Tufts University School of Medicine have begun presenting an hour-long taped audioconference on Medscape on the Internet.
First shown in November, the conference is scheduled to be presented a total of 12 times through February. Dates and times can be viewed at www.unos.org/resources/invitation1.htm.
Topics include the role of health care professionals in organ procurement and the process behind procurement and transplantation. The content of the program, which was written by the UNOS Professional Services Department, is "intended for the global audience of health care professionals outside of transplantation," UNOS said.
Presenters include Randal Bollinger, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of General Surgery at Duke University Medical Center; Shirley D. Schlessinger, MD, a nephrologist and transplant physician at University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Jeremiah Turcotte, MD, director of the liver transplant program at University of Michigan Hospitals. Each presentation is followed by a question and answer session.
In a second component to the project, a transplantation section on Medscape (www.medscape.com) "will soon be ready for access," UNOS said. The section will provide information on the national transplantation system and the organ donation process.
Continuing education credits will be available to physicians, nurses, and transplant coordinators who complete either program, UNOS said. Collectively called Donation and Transplantation: Into the New Millennium, the project is being sponsored by a grant from Hoffman-La Roche.
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