The clinical and research activities of the Division focus on training physicians for careers in clinical and academic nephrology. The renal inpatient service provides both primary and consultative services to patients with acute and chronic renal disease, hypertension, fluid and electrolyte disorders, and autoimmune illnesses. The inpatient service shares responsibility with the surgical service for the management of renal transplant patients. An acute dialysis unit is utilized for hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and therapeutic plasmapheresis.
Outpatient care takes place in dialysis facilities all around the national capital area.
Outpatient clinics are conducted five mornings a week. The Ambulatory Dialysis Centers treat both hemodialysis patients who are dialyzed at the Centers, as well as homecare patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. A multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers and dieticians works closely to provide and care for this patient population. Weekly renal conferences and journal club review current topics related to patients as well as areas of research interest. The GWU-VA program includes a broadly based clinical experience in all aspects of nephrology including management of acute and chronic dialysis, and training in specialized procedures such as renal biopsies and acute vascular access placement.