The Transplant Nephrology Workforce in the United States: Current State and Future Directions

Abstract

The population of patients with kidney transplants in the United States is growing. The delivery of transplant care is complex, involves a multidisciplinary transplant team, and care coordination between transplant and community providers. The transplant nephrologist is central to the delivery of this care and assumes a multitude of clinical and nonclinical roles and responsibilities. With a growing population of patients requiring transplant care that spans a continuum from pretransplant referral to long-term posttransplant management, an understanding of the current state of the transplant nephrology workforce in the United States and the future that it faces is important in ensuring that current and future needs of both patients and physicians are met. In this article, we (1) review the scope of practice of the transplant nephrologist, (2) discuss the state of training in the field of transplant nephrology, (3) review the role of the referring primary nephrologist in the care of patients undergoing kidney transplant, and (4) discuss challenges and opportunities facing the transplant nephrology workforce.

Keywords: Economics; Kidney transplantation; Nephrology education; Transplant nephrology; Workforce.