Nephrology & Urology Workforce Pipeline

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ABSTRACT There are an estimated 50 million Americans with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the care provided to people with CKD and end stage kidney disease exceeds $114 billion annually. Despite these numbers, recent data indicates that there is a significant workforce shortage in the field of nephrology and that the total number of grants submitted to the NIH focused on kidney and urologic diseases and disorders has decreased over the past decade. This dichotomy creates a significant need to reverse the current trends and increase the number of trainees interested in pursuing a career in nephrology and urology that includes an NIDDK-related research focus. To begin to address these important issues, we propose the development of a new Student Urinary Tract Program in Education and Research (SUPER) Summer Program for undergraduate students with a strong focus on diversity. This program will provide new educational, laboratory and clinical experiences for undergraduate students promoting a better understanding of kidney and urinary tract diseases as well as careers in Nephrology and Urology. In addition, the SUPER-Summer Program is designed to integrate into a wide range of pre-existing training programs at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital providing a seamless NIDDK- focused workforce pipeline. We strongly believe that creating this innovative and well-structured SUPER- Summer Program focused on nephrology and urology related topics will capture student interest early in their career development - thereby increasing the potential workforce population and diversity creating a strong foundation for the next generation of NIDDK-research focused clinicians and scientists.