Purpose EDTNA/ERCA is committed to working with renal teachers to evaluate and accredit educational activities being offered to renal practitioners. The purpose is two fold:

• To enable renal practitioners seeking to apply for courses to understand both the type and quality of the course being offered
• To provide clear feedback to teachers, helping them develop their skills as teachers to be informed about best educational practice

Accreditation Teams The accreditation team comprises two full-time University based nephrology lecturers and one full-time nephrology clinical teacher. All have considerable experience in offering different types of general and nephrology education for basic and post basic nurses and nephrology healthcare workers. Members of the team have individually been involved in educational and clinical research, and curriculum development that has informed their educational and clinical practice. All members of the accreditation team are also experienced renal nurses and thus bring to the EDTNA/ERCA Education Board the expertise required for this accreditation project.

Post Basic Education Post basic education in general terms contributes to the equipping of nephrology health professionals with the requisite knowledge and skills to care for the diverse range of care requirements needed by those with renal failure and their families. In more specific terms a teacher shapes cognitive, emotional and professional development of individual adult learners for their multiple roles within the care community. In order to offer effective education the interdependent processes of the interactions of the teacher and the education process impacting nephrology care delivery need to be considered. It is these interactions that the EDTNA/ERCA Education Board considers to be the philosophy of good education practice and form the basis of the EDTNA/ERCA accrediting scheme.

Hence teaching must ensure that learning and understanding has occurred in the ‘student’, and is utilised to enhance and develop the care offered to our patients in the clinical environment.

Accreditation Accreditation of higher education teaching is often seen as a means of stemming concerns about the quality of teaching, and provides an overarching framework that identifies a set of core elements in order for teachers to be recognised as competent, and the educational provision of value to the student. Broadly these elements are:

• Designing and planning a curriculum
• Teaching and supporting learning in the subject field
• Assessing students learning achievements
• Maintaining the institutions system for supporting students
• Evaluating and improving the teaching-learning process

There are a number of national and international quality organisations already established to assess educational opportunities or clinical activity. However, there are no such organisations to award educational opportunities for courses that are offered within the renal speciality across Europe. Given the geographic and clinical diversity within the field of nephrology and the EDTNA/ERCA membership these ‘quality organisations’ may be confusing for clinical managers, clinical practitioners and patients to understand.

To this end the accreditation team have adapted Hounsell’s evaluation cycle (2001) to provide the basis of the EDTNA/ERCA accreditation scheme.

1. To clarify context and focus of education package being offered
2. Accreditation team review data submitted by course teacher and assess according to accreditation criteria.
3. Accreditation team to review supporting evidence submitted by course teacher.
4. Accreditation team to analyse and interpret 2 & 3 according to accreditation assessment categories.
5. Accreditation team agree on classification of accreditation to be awarded to the course.
6. Give the course teacher feedback according to award and identify suggestions for continuing development for the course and individual teacher.

By understanding these foundations and concepts of the EB accreditation team it is hoped that the teacher applying for accreditation of their course is better prepared to apply for the accreditation process.

For more information about the EDTNA/ERCA Accreditation process, please contact the EDTNA/ERCA Secretariat.