2005 was a very important and interesting year for renal nurses in Austria.

2005 activities included:

• Organisation of a National Seminar held in Gosau from 31 April to 1 May 2005.172 delegates from 25 Austrian dialysis units participated in the National Seminar. Seven out of the eleven papers were presented by renal nurses and four were given by either representatives of the industry or doctors. This seminar was organised by nurses for nurses and all the presentations were of very high quality. One of the sessions was the occasion to show nurses how some patients spend their time while being 'attached' to the machines. Patients started to paint by using window colours and created marvellous pieces of art. Participants in the session we were hugely impressed.
• Active participation in the 34 th Vienna conference as Local Organising Committee. 221 abstracts had been turned in beforehand in order to be published for the event. The LOC was proud to welcome 2489 delegates from 58 countries to Vienna.
• The conference was announced in several national medical journals and newsletters and a short report on the conference was broadcast on radio as well as published in the medical journal, 'People', edited by the Medizinische Universitätsklinik Wien and on the City of Vienna website.

In 2005 the Austrian Association consisted of 194 Members, who, at the same time are EDTNA/ERCA Members. 39 of these had become new Members in the course of last year, which means that membership increased by 25%.

For more information, please contact Martha Girak, Key Member Austria

In 2005, there were 192 Belgian EDTNA/ERCA Members. Membership has declined 35% over the last 2 years, from 296 Members in 2003 to 192 Members in 2005. However 76% (146) of the Belgian Members attended the 34 th Vienna Conference.

2005 activities included:

• Organisation of 3 awards for the accepted Belgian abstracts with the support from the industry. Ilse Claeys, Freddy Hardy and Clement Dequidt were awarded
• The two national associations offered each 3 or 4 seminars during the academic year 2004 - 2005. EDTNA/ERCA was represented at both events and general information about the association and abstract submission were offered
• On 25 October, the 5th Post EDTNA/ERCA / Post AFIDTN Meeting was held in the Kinepolis Cinema Complex in Brussels. 450 nurses attended. There was an increase of 183.7% in attendances.
• The first EPD Belgium meeting was held in January 2006
• Representation at national meetings held on both the Dutch and French side of the Country.

Future projects include.

• The organisation of the 6th Post EDTNA/ERCA meeting in October 2006
• Further contacts with ORPADT French – ORPADT Flemish and DTV
• Articles in the National Association Publications
• Providing National Scholarships for the Madrid Conference 2006
• Starting and promoting the EPD project 2006 with the 2 national organisations and DTV
• Attending seminars of the National Organisations
• Looking out to increase the Members ratio

For more information, please contact Michel Roden, Key Member Belgium

By the end of 2005, Croatia was counting some 61 EDTNA/ERCA Members. Compared with the Membership in the last five years this has been the most successful year for EDTNA/ERCA in Croatia.

2005 activities included:

• Presentation about EDTNA/ERCA at CNA´s Annual Meeting of Society of Nurses in Nephrology, Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation (March 2005). Various EDTNA/ERCA activities were presented including the Vienna Conference, ENRCA project, …
• Active participation in CAN Executive Committee meetings
• Article published in the Croatian Nurses Association National Journal about the Vienna Conference

45 Croatian delegates attended the 34th EDTNA/ERCA International Conference in Vienna. One abstract, one oral poster and three posters were presented.

For more information, please contact Berislav Poje, Key Member Croatia

There were 134 Members of EDTNA/ERCA from the Czech Republic at the end of 2005, which represents 10% increased from 2004.

2005 activities included:

• In November the first National PEAK meeting was held in Prague under the generous sponsorship of Roche. The aim of the meeting was to share best practice in anaemia management within the Czech Republic. The meeting was attended by 26 nurses. Professor Sulkova, President of the Czech Society of Nephrology, gave the opening address. PEAK Faculty Members from EDTNA/ERCA Lesley Bennett Anaemia IG Chair, John Sedgewick Education Board Chair and Jitka Pancírová President Elect supported the meeting.
• In March 2005, the 11 th Czech EDTNA/ERCA National Seminar took place in Prague.
• The 5 th Multi-disciplinary Nephrology Conference was held in November in Brno. The main topic was Prevention in Renal Care. This event was co-organised by EDTNA/ERCA and the Czech Association of Nurses.
• Vascular Access or Dialysis Technology Workshops, organised in collaboration with renal company and University hospitals. The EDTNA/ERCA activities were presented at this occasion.
• Members in the region continue to receive the Czech EDTNA/ERCA bulletin with important information and interesting lectures from the national Seminars.

Some 83 Czech Members attended the Vienna conference.

For more information, please contact Jiri Sramek, Key Member Czech Republic

2005 has been an extremely busy year in Denmark.

The membership has gone up from 77 to 107, which is a major increase.

2005 activities included:

• Participation in the Danish National Nephrology Associations (FSnefro). The 3-day meeting was the occasion to present EDTNA/ERCA activities and display some materials. Some 120 Danish nephrology nurses and 16 companies attended the event.
• Articles in FSnefro newsletter to promote EDTNA/ERCA and update on latest activities, including research and conference

Upcoming projects include

• 2-day study day organised with the support of the industry. If you would like to take part in the organisation of this event, please contact Maria Fettouhi as soon as possible. More information will be communicated shortly on this page and in the FSnefro magazine.
• Visit nephrology centres and identify key person for each unit to establish stronger communication
• Encourage abstract submission for Madrid Conference

For more information, please contact Maria Fettouhi, Key Member Denmark

There are 31 EDTNA/ERCA Members in Estonia, of which 30 nurses and 1 doctor. Because of the low membership numbers, no National Seminars or workshops have been organised in 2005.
2005 activities included:

• Articles published in magazine „Estonian Nurse” which reviewed the 34th EDTNA/ERCA International Conference as well as the organisation in general (December)
• Participation in a national conference which took place at the Tartu University Library in November on the topic of haemodialysis at the intensive care. The conference was sponsored by Gambro and Braun.
• Regular lectures about acute and chronic renal failure and also haemo- and peritoneal dialysis are included in the specialisation trainings for the intensive care nurses. Additional trainings about haemodialysis take place twice a year at the Tartu University Clinics Intensive Care Unit.

For more information, please contact Katrin Koidla, Link Member Estonia

2005 activities included:

• 45 Hamburg-Rissen seminar (9-10 April 2005)
• 46 Hamburg-Rissen seminar (12-13 November 2004)
• 14 regional seminars together with the national association AfnP (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für nephrologisches Pflegepersonal)
• “Nephrologischer Pflegepreis 2005” of AfnP and EDTA/ERCA German Branch awarded Angelika Gollwitz / Claudia Heyne-Uredat / Hannelore Doberschütz for their paper “Quality of Life and Dialysis”
• Post Basic Education for Nephrology Nurses: Jutta Balhorn, Waltraud Küntzle, Josefa Fenselau and Michael Reichard organised and coordinated meetings for representatives of all institutions to further education in nephrology care
• European Standards for Renal Care publication is sold out. A revised copy is under production
• Quality Assurance Programme (QuaSi-Niere) objective is to collect data for the national nephrology registry. Local Members are in the process of getting quality parameters implemented in the data report
• Nephrological Care working group edited “Nephrological Care: The Care Process in Practice”. This binder has been revised completely and enlarged in 2002 and is now sold out. An enlarged illustrated edition is in print
• Publications: 2 editions of “Forum”
• EDTNA/ERCA was represented at 5 national conferences in 2005

For more information, please contact Hedi Lückerath, Key Member Germany

In the year 2005, the number of our Members has increased 480.

2005 activities included:

• The annual scientific meeting in Athens had huge success with more than 400 delegates. The IPP, Georgia Thanasa has been officially invited to address a welcome speech at the opening session. A poster of the participating units to the European Practise Database have been displayed as well as promotional materials about EDTNA/ERCA
• 350 Greek nurses attended the Vienna conference. The event included a Greek translated Workshop about the "Management of Hypertension", of which 100 delegates took part.

Upcoming projects include:

• Annual Scientific Meeting in Athens (18 March 2006)
• HENNA National Conference, Alexandroupoli (25-28 May 2006)

For more information, please contact Marianna Eleftheroudi Key Member Greece

There are presently 218 EDTNA/ERCA Members in Italy.
Italian membership usually fluctuates between 200 and 500 Members.

2005 activities included:

• Activation of a national website www.edtna-erca.it - with information and links on the renal field, in Italian language
• National Conference in Bologna (21–23 April 2005) attended by 560 delegates. The theme was: 'Nursing Govern in Nephrology Care'.
• National Conference of Peritoneal Dialysis in Bergamo (20–22 June 2005), organised in collaboration with the Italian Society of Nephrology – SIN
• Four EDTNA/ERCA one day study meetings: PubMed 1st & 2nd edition, Communication & Nephrology Critical Care

The two settled working groups have continued their work on: Nursing on PD and Acute Renal Failure Care.

The year 2005 has been focused to a better management in improving cultural growth of Members and the quality of the activities.

The 2005 working group included: Sandro Geatti Branch President, Margherita Rivetti Key Member and Marisa Pegoraro, Laura Pertusini, M.Pia Zito, Simona Negroni, Valeria Campodonico, Cristina Gambirasio, and Paola Coscia

Upcoming projects include:

• Preparation of the 24th National Conference (27-29 April 2006, Roma), including five pre conference workshops
• Organisation of four (to six) one-day study days throughout the year, in different cities
• Start collaboration with SIN on Vascular Access Education program

For more information, please contact Margherita Rivetti, Link Member Italy

The Association counts 69 Members in Ireland. Membership towards the end of 2004 declined by 9%, but peaked again in August 2005 to 90 Members.

2005 activities included:

• A Renal Study Day/ Forum took place in Dublin, in Ireland on 18 February 2005. It was well attended by 32 delegates. The study day was primarily for clinical nurse managers and was kindly sponsored by Amgen. All units around the Ireland were represented. The aim of this study day was to stimulate discussions among clinical nurse managers working in dialysis units in Ireland and through discussion aim to work towards a practice database. Maurice Harrington was an invited guest speaker from EDTNA/ERCA. He presented results of the European Practice Database and future RB projects. A discussion on whether Ireland would join in the future followed. There were some managers very interested in becoming involved. A follow up meeting in will be arranged to finalise this. Dr Kerry Maltby a guest speaker from Amgen gave a very interesting presentation on Cinacalcet.

At this occasion, a presentation on EDTNA/ERCA activities was given as well as introduction to the Vienna conference. Mr Fionan King from Amgen ( Ireland) spoke to the group. He encouraged nurse managers to send delegates to the conference and spoke of Amgen sponsoring a post conference highlights meeting where an update can be given of interesting presentations at the conference.

At the end of the Study Day / Forum Amgen ( Ireland) agreed to sponsor two further meetings in 2005.

• A Second National Seminar took place on 1 July 2005 in Dublin. The study day was primarily for clinical nurse managers working in all dialysis units in Ireland. 35 delegates attended and at least one representative was present from each unit. The aim of the day was to stimulate discussion among clinical nurse managers regarding EDTNA/ERCA activities, conferences and projects. Ms Margaret McCann represented the Education Board and updated Members on the board’s activities and projects. Representatives also were there from the Irish Renal Strategy Group. The National President was also present and discussions took place regarding the future level agreements with the EDTNA/ERCA. The possibility of Ireland joining the EDTNA/ERCA European Practice Database was again discussed. While some showed interested further discussion and commitment was necessary.
• There were three abstracts submitted for the conference and the National Scholarship winner was announced. The winner was Ms Monica Kavanagh from Letterkenny Dialysis Unit. The abstract was titled: “A Computer Training Package for Renal Patients”

It is hoped that Monica will present the abstract at the next meeting in early 2006. Both the Study day and the National Scholarship were kindly sponsored by Amgen.

Attendance at the Vienna conference was the highest in a number of years with 67 Irish delegates in attendance. There were representations from all renal units throughout the country both at senior and junior level.

There were good representations from the patient group who attended CEAPIR related meetings and presentations. There were also industry representatives. Three abstracts were presented at the conference. One patient also presented at the session in collaboration with CEAPIR.

For more information, please contact Veronica Francis, Key Member Ireland

At December 2005, there were 53 Israeli EDTNA/ERCA Members.

Some of the activities run in 2005 included:

• Abstract writing workshop for Members planning on submitting an abstract for the 34 th Vienna Conference (January 2005)
• Workshop on ‘How to Present a Paper and "Dress Rehearsal"’ for those whose abstracts were accepted, also allowing Members to practice their English
• Presentation of two National scholarships of US$500 each for the Israeli abstracts with the highest number of points

Participation was high. 13 Israeli abstracts were accepted and 85 delegates attended the Conference.

Although Israel is a small country, there are presently 8 volunteers active in different areas such as the Education Board, special Interest Groups and in the ENRICA project.

Other activities run at national level included:

• Final Vascular Access Workshop (February 2005)
• EDTNA/ERCA booth and KM poster at national conference (November 2005)
• Article summing up EDTNA/ERCA activities, including participation in the Vienna Conference and the names and duties of EDTNA/ERCA volunteers in the bi-annual publication Nephrology Nursing Journal
• Information about the organisation translated into Hebrew for the Nephrology website
• Letters to units, every few months, about EDTNA/ERCA activities, including the number of volunteers
• Letters to units with abstract writing instructions translated in to Hebrew

For more information, please contact Jacki Barrie, Key Member Israel

At the end of 2005, Lithuania had 24 Members.

10 Members from Lithuania have participated in the 34th International Conference in Vienna. This event provided Members with the opportunity to exchange experiences, ideas and problems faced in everyday job. But most importantly Members were able to share their thoughts about the future of EDTNA/ERCA in Lithuania.

In April 2005, Lithuania organised its Annual National conference in Vilnius. Attendees were presented with EDTNA/ERCA activities at European and local level.

In November 2005, another seminar was organised in Kaunas on the theme “Influence of Technicians Work to Quality of Dialysis”.

For more information, please contact Edita Noruisiene, Link Member Lithuania

There are currently 53 Norwegian Members. The majority are renal nurses.

45 Norwegian Members were able to attend the Conference in Vienna, Austria. A guest speaker from Norway was also presenting a session.

Some of the activities run in 2005 included:

• Two one-day seminars, in Bergen and Oslo, organised in cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry, and attended by some 120 delegates. The theme was “Kidney Focus”. A presentation on EDTNA/ERCA activities was also given at this occasion.
• Booth at Nordiatrans in Tønsberg, Norway, displaying EDTNA/ERCA brochures, and organised together with the Swedish Key Member. The event was attended by some 400 delegates.
• Article about EDTNA/ERCA for the Central Hospital Newspaper ( Østfold, Norway).

Additional promotional activities for EDTNA/ERCA will be given this year, including presentations at seminars, attendance of Key Member meeting, Nordiatrans 2006 and the international EDTNA/ERCA Conference in Madrid.

Extra effort will be made to reinforce the relationship between EDTNA/ERCA and the National Kidney association.

For more information, please contact Hilde Irene Langmo, Key Member Norway

There are presently 151 Members in Portugal (+ 5.8% increase compared to previous year).

2005 activities included:

• Information sent to dialysis units about EDTNA/ERCA aims and activities and the annual International Conference
• Motivation programmes to encourage nurses for doing nursing research
• Participation in the National Portuguese Congress of Nephrology, which took place in Oporto and was organised with the National Nursing Association (APEDT)
• Participation in the National Seminar of APEDT, that took place in April 2006, the KM and Filipe Cristóvão, another Member of the KM group, have introduced EDTNA/ERCA in general as well as the basic principles concerning abstracts’ submission and oral presentation.

The working group includes:

• Filipe Cristóvão - Nurse Teacher and former KM
• Paula Henriques - Haemodialysis Nurse
• Lopes Querido - Haemodialysis Head Nurse
• Teresa Sousa - Haemodialysis Head Nurse
• Fausto Duarte - Haemodialysis Nurse

Upcoming projects include:

• Work closely with the KM group to promote more effectively EDTNA/ERCA
• Present EDTNA/ERCA work in any nephrology and dialysis events taking place in Portugal

For more information, please contact M^a Teresa Ramalhal Teixeira, Key Member Portugal

There are presently 64 Members in Slovenia, which is the same number as in 2004.

2005 activities included:

• Transplantation – seminar for nurses and doctors, workshops for nurses
• Predialysis education for new educators
• Publication of a booklet for predialysis education
• Publication of a booklet for dietitian counselling
• Introduction of individual dietitian counselling to HD centers during HD or directly after, re-education of HD patients
• Seminars for new dietitian counsellors
• Gaining acknowledgement for HD education as post graduate study with certificate at national level
• Introduction of nurse anaemia management
• National seminar
• Active participation in the 34th EDTNA/ERCA Conference in Vienna

• Participation is every EB meetings for the Slovenian nephrology section
• Membership recruitment and retention campaign
• Support in establishing post graduate study of HD, including research of information on Core Curriculum (post basic) and state of HD education in other European countries

The working group includes:

• Gaber Liljana
• Vrhovec Stojana
• Čalič Mirjana
• Černilec, Andreja
• Hostnik, Ana
• Lavrinec, Jože
• Krampelj, Zlatka
• Parapot, Marica
• Perko, Mateja
• Pečolar, Sonja
• Rep, Mirjana
• Tratnjek, Zdenka

For more information, please contact Sabina Lipicnik, Key Member Slovenia

The Swedish Annual Nephrology Meeting took place in Stockholm on 7-9 May. The successful meeting gathered some 600 delegates. On the first and the third day of the event, joint meetings were held with all renal team workers. The second day was divided into sessions for the different professions. Various topics were presented and discussed with speakers from Sweden, the USA, Italy and Canada. Susanne Heiwe a physiotherapist from Stockholm talked about the importance of exercise in general and also with a focus on the predialysis and the dialysis patient. Susanne is also one of two guest speakers from Sweden who will be presenting in Madrid.
The EDTNA/ERCA booth attracted many visitors. Spain is definitely a place people want to visit! Most of the Madrid conference promotional materials are gone.
The 'Partnership brochure' was distributed to many companies and very good contacts were made with drug companies.
Also presenters were encouraged to submit abstract for the 2007 conference in Florence, Italy.

Swedish renal care professionals are becoming more aware about EDTNA/ERCA and a lot of interest has been shown in the Association. However the number of paid-up Members (107) has decreased due to the change in regulations regarding industry sponsorship.

2005 activities included:

• EDTNA/ERCA was represented at the Nordiatrans meeting in Tonsberg, Norway, as well as at the Swedish Nephrology Nurses Annual Meeting in Linköping. A booth and poster were displayed at both events as well as EDTNA/ERCA promotional materials. The booth was well attended.
• Articles were submitted to the “Dialasen”, the Scandinavian journal for renal care professionals. The most recent article highlighted the Vienna Conference, On-line Education, the Journal Club and the upcoming Conference in Madrid.
• Some 100 Swedish delegates attended the Vienna Conference. Three Swedish abstracts were accepted, one of which became the joint-winner of the “Best Poster” competition.
• KM took part in a meeting with EDTNA/ERCA Research Board and SNSF in Vienna with discussions about participation in the EPD project. Sweden decided not to join the project as a similar database is already setup for the country.
• Ongoing discussions with one of the SNSF executive Members are taking place on how best to increase the number of Swedish abstract submissions for the upcoming EDTNA/ERCA Conferences

For more information, please contact Eva-Lena Nilsson, Key Member Sweden

There are 98 EDTNA/ERCA Members in Switzerland. The membership increased with 6 members in 2007.

2007 activities included:

• Basic training course in peritoneal- dialysis in Weinfelden, 25. - 26 Apr. 2007, organized by Margrit Perren
• Participation in international conference in Florence, 15. - 18. Sept. 2007 as representative of the national EDTNA- organization
• Creation of an instruction leaflet on fistula in cooperation with the national association, Sept. 2007(for further information see www.ig-nephrologie.ch)

National Association and their activities:

• IG Nephrology: Basic training course in peritoneal- dialysis in Weinfelden, 25. - 26 Apr. 2007, organized by M. Perren
• IG Nephrology: Creation of an instructional leaflet on fistula, Sept. 2007
• IG Nephrology: Revision and reprinting of the new edition of the leaflet patient information concerning renal disease, Oct. 2007
• IG Nephrology: Annual national nephrology-meeting in Berne, 22. Nov. 2007
• VNPS: Information by Andrea Schäfer, president of VNPS
• SBK: Information by Pierre Théraulaz, president of SBK

Future Projects:

• 22. – 24. April 2008: 5th PD-Course in Weinfelden

There are 135 EDTNA/ERCA Members in the Netherlands. The membership has declined with 30% in the last year.

2005 activities included:

• Articles (column) about EDTNA/ERCA activities, 4 times a year in the LVDT, national magazine. The LVDT has 2400 Members/readers
• The Nephrology Days 2005 (NND) took place on 5-6 April. EDTNA/ERCA had a complimentary booth to promote the association in general and the Vienna conference
• Regular contacts with Members and support for membership, abstract submission questions

2005 was a significant year for Dutch abstracts submission. Some 16 abstracts were sent by Dutch Members and 10 abstracts were actually presented in Vienna.

The industry also showed great support in sponsoring the three Dutch abstract winners at the Vienna Conference. Amgen, Baxter and Gambro/Hospal awarded the three best Dutch abstract writers.

This year a Dutch Member: Cees Blokker also won an EDTNA/ERCA scholarship.

In April 2005, EDTNA/ERCA booth was also present at the National Nephrology Conference. Visitors expressed great interest in EDTNA/ERCA and in the abstract submission process for the Vienna Conference.

For more information, please contact Els Westerhof, Key Member the Netherlands

There are presently 43 Members in Turkey.

2005 activities included:

• Support for the EDTNA/ERCA booth during the ERA event that took place in Istanbul in June 2005
• Supported the organisation of the 15 th National Congress of Renal Diseases Dialysis and Transplantation Nursing in Antalya, on 16-20 November 2005. Over 550 delegates from Turkey attended. EDTNA/ERCA Education Board Chair was invited to present a session
• Coordinated with the National Association and pharmaceutical industry three local educational programs for patient and families, and also for the PD nurses
• Publication of the Journal of Nephrology Nursing three times in a year. The advisory Board of the Journal include: John Sedgewich, Chair, Cordelia Ashwanden, Maria Cruz Casal Garcia, Anna Marti I Monros, Waltraud Küntzle, Helen Noble and J.P.Van Waeleghem
• Articles in the Journal of Nephrology Nursing, articles in the national press, flyers for the promotion of EDTNA/ERCA, and participation in book editing project

For more information, please contact Zehra Aydin, Key Member Turkey

The number of Members has decreased slightly in the UK over the last couple of years from 520 – 485.

2005 activities included:

• Membership support, as well as membership recruitment campaign
• Representation of EDTNA/ERCA at major national events
• Participation in the British Renal Society / Renal Association Integrated Conference in Manchester in 2005 and the Conference in Harrogate on 3-5 May 2006, where the EDTNA/ERCA booth will be displayed

For more information, please contact Rebecca Kinton, Key Member UK