Within EDTNA/ERCA we are committed to working with renal teachers and those who deliver a variety of renal education programs to evaluate and accredit educational activities offered to healthcare staff working within the renal field. The purpose of the accreditation project is two-fold. Firstly, to enable renal healthcare staff seeking to apply for courses, Programmes of continuing education to understand both the type and quality of the course being offered.

Secondly, to provide clear feedback to educators, helping them develop their skills as teachers to be informed about the best educational practice.

The accreditation team comprises 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 EDTNA/ERCA the expertise required for this accreditation project.

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 the cognitive, emotional, and professional development of individual adult learners for their multiple roles within the care community (Knowles (1990). 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 EDTNA/ERCA Educationalist staff, consider 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 have occurred in the ‘student’, and are utilized to enhance and develop the care offered to our patients in the clinical environment.

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 recognized as competent (Gregory 1998), 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 institution's system for supporting students
• Evaluating and improving the teaching-learning process (Pennington 1998)

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

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

1. To clarify the context and focus of education package being offered
2. Accreditation team review data submitted by the course teacher and assess according to accreditation criteria.
3. Accreditation team to review supporting evidence submitted by the course teacher.
4. Accreditation team to analyze and interpret 2 & 3 according to accreditation assessment categories.
5. The accreditation team agrees on the 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.

Congratulations to the Accreditation of your Educational Programme – Peritoneal Dialysis Fundamentals.
"Thank you very much. I am happy for these achievements and the Endorsement by EDTNA/ERCA. The First Accredited Course on Peritoneal Dialysis Fundamentals will take place in Saudi Arabia, September 9-13, 2018.

We are very much looking forward to this training session. If we look back into the Process, how did it work?
"It worked very smooth and the support from Dr. John Sedgewick was very well appreciated. The Process and documentation are a hug task; however, it is necessary to make the assessment thoroughly."

Even if the Process and documentation are hug tasks, would you do this again?
"Absolutely, and we are now already looking into the Re-Accreditation Process. Thank You very much and we are looking forward to taking our Partnership and Collaboration onto the next level."