The ISN aims to develop a unique program of activities targeted at the needs of young nephrologists, who make up approximately 50% of the society’s membership. We aim to expand the network of young nephrologists, trainees, scientists, allied health professionals and kidney patients within the society. We are committed to promoting the engagement of all young ISN Members in the activities of the society, empowering the next generation of healers, academicians and researchers worldwide. This section of the ISN website highlights the multiple opportunities for young ISN members to learn and acquire new competences, network, and become involved with advancing the care of patients with kidney disease through the ISN.
The ISN created the Young Nephrologists Committee (YNC) in 2007 to help better engage its talented younger members in shaping the future of the Society. The mission of the YNC is to evaluate and understand the needs of young ISN members in order to develop education, research, professional development and leadership opportunities within the Society tailored specifically to their needs. The Committee consists of up to 25 members, representing the 10 different regions in which ISN has divided the world.
The YNC renews its members periodically. Nominations are submitted through the Regional Boards and other committees, but the YNC is also open to applications during the renewal process.
Specific activities undertaken by the YNC currently include:
The development and delivery of educational activities specifically tailored to the needs of young nephrologists such as a statistics course in collaboration with the ISN academy.
The participation in the development of capacity building initiatives for young nephrologists such as the Emerging Leaders Program or the new ISN Mentorship program.
The participation in the development of all the core programs of the ISN by having active representation and participation in the various committees and workgroups of the ISN.
The development and delivery of specific sessions for young ISN members at the annual World Congress of Nephrology (WCN) meeting. This includes both educational sessions tailored specifically to young nephrologists including sharing the experience of young nephrologists with the various ISN programs and initiatives, to inspire and encourage young ISN members to get involved and social activities to foster networking between young members.
Improvement of the communication between the ISN and its younger members, including promoting better use of social media. We advocate the use of the hashtag #ISNyoung for all content relevant to young ISN members. The YNC will promote upcoming initiatives to young ISN members through the ISN Insight newsletter and regular e-alerts. The YNC also promoted the development of the #ISNyoung Forum to foster interaction between young ISN members.
Contribution to the ISN Membership strategy to promote the benefits of joining ISN to potential young members, and enhancing the participation of young ISN members within ISN leadership roles. This includes active follow up of admission and retention rates of young members, and develop initiatives to increase the number of young members involved in core ISN programs.
You can find more information on the Young Nephrologists Committee of the ISN on this webpage.
The YNC prepares several activities to be hosted during the World Congress of Nephrology (WCN). Here is the program that we prepared for WCN’23, in cooperation with the young nephrologists committee of the APSN.
Within the Scientific Program of the WCN, the YNC’s Session includes three parts:
- a discussion amongst young nephrologists from different parts of the world about their work facing different crisis situations;
- a series of presentations of young professionals comparing differences among the training period during their education;
- the presentation of the winners of the best YN abstracts at WCN’23, followed by a brief presentation of the winning works.
The YNC has also organized a networking event at a nearby hotel. Young nephrologists will have the opportunity to meet with other colleagues from all over the world, including also members of the YNC, the Emerging Leaders Program, and the Social Media team.
Finally, the YNC prepared a for the Spotlight Theatre: five teams will face each other representing different world regions, competing in a quiz to foster engagement and connection between YNs in an interactive and fun way. Be sure to join us and take part! Please complete this survey if you would like to participate in the quiz.
You can find more details on the WCN’23 activities for young nephrologists in this article.
The Young Nephrologists Network (YNN) is a platform to offer the younger members of the ISN an opportunity to get involved in the development of our society ensuring that the enthusiasm of all young nephrologists is put to good use! The YNC will reach out to the YN Network members to support ISN on its projects and initiatives, based on their clinical interests or the regional scope of the projects.
If you are an ISN member and you want to join the YNN please follow this link (ISN membership login required).
The ISN Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is designed to build a talent pool of future leaders interested in shaping policies to improve kidney health worldwide.
Each year, a cohort of young leaders works on a collaborative thought project to advance kidney health and care with a regional or global scope.
Some of the other activities proposed to the ELP participants include access to webinars with established global leaders; following a leadership curriculum composed by the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL); hosting networking sessions at WCN and other ISN events; peer-group mentorship; and participation as observers in ISN working groups.
The KI Fellowship is an excellent opportunity to go ‘behind the scenes’ and see how a top journal works. You get to be involved in every stage of the submission process, from assessing papers to see if they should be sent out to review, selecting reviewers, collating reviewer feedback, suggesting a decision and discussing it with the editorial board at the weekly editorial conference. The weekly conferences are a great way to learn from the diverse expertise of the editorial team. This is a wonderful opportunity and will leave you with a deeper understanding of the editorial process.
Mentoring is a key aspect of capacity building activities. The ISN Mentorship Program aims to foster expertise-sharing and expertise-building relationships in the field of nephrology. The ISN Mentorship Program is open to all ISN members, whatever their age, region, experience or expertise, helping them to connect with the ISN global community and build mutual learning partnerships, and raising understanding of the global nature of kidney health and care in the different contexts in which they occur. Mentees can work on their specific professional goals together with a mentor, while mentors can develop their coaching and leadership skills.
The following areas are just a few examples of what mentors and mentees can focus on: clinical practice, basic science, clinical research, research methodologies, writing and reviewing competences, leadership development, general career advice, communication, digital skills, etc.
Every year, the IRRIV organises their Vicenza Course on AKI and CRRT, and in collaboration with the ISN, offers 3 grants for free registration for young nephrologists. The open call is advertised yearly on the ISN Insight newsletter and on the ISN social media channels.
The ISN organizes regularly regional courses to improve the Scientific Writing skills of their young members. They are regularly advertised on ISN Insight and although at the moment they are organized online, in future editions they will be back to live format.