Studying Nephrology - The Foundation

Years ago, I have shared on study preparation for exams including USMLE, MRCP and SCE Nephrology. But exams apart, it is a lifelong pursue if you are planning to subspecialize in the field that you're most interested in.

"Pursuing Nephrology was my lifelong career dream, as I am intrigued by its complex pathophysiology and the magnitude of renal aspect in multi-systemic interaction. Nephrology requires a great attention to details but is always gratifying." - that's how I started in the training!

And if anyone would like to study further for Nephrology, I'd just like to share some of the "Must-reads", and I can't emphasize enough how important is the foundation - and getting the core concepts right before you advance further.

1. Landmark Papers in Nephrology - selected seminal studies that led to the practice of Nephrology today. It is a fascinating read, especially on the historical origins of many aspects of Nephrology.

2. Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology (in 5th Ed) does not need much introduction. It is THE textbook for all trainees and Nephrologists.

3. Acid-Base and Electrolyte Disorders (in 6th Ed) is a classic on its own and demystifies the difficult subject, and it is authored by Burton Rose, the founder of UptoDate.

4. The 3 core handbooks - Dialysis (by John Daugirdas, in 5th Ed); Peritoneal dialysis (by Steve Guest, in 2nd Ed) and Renal Transplantation (by Gabriel Danovitch, in 6th Ed). These are concise, yet comprehensive and practical and essentially cover all you need to know about different modalities of renal replacement therapy.

Have fun reading!