Nursing patients with kidney disease in a high-tech treatment environment is complicated and challenging, and nurses require special knowledge, attitudes and skills. The main objective of the study programme is to produce reflective nephrology nurses with up-to-date knowledge who will be able to take an evidence-based approach and contribute to development and improvement processes in their discipline.

Objective of the programme

The objective of the study programme is to provide high-level nursing competence to nurses who either work or plan to work in the field. The intention is to further develop the individual student’s level of knowledge, skills and attitudes in nursing practice when working with patients with kidney disease. Students will gain insight into and develop skills in the specialist field. Reflection, supervision and practical experience will help students to put their theoretical knowledge into practice in the clinical setting.

Through their work on health promotion, prevention, treatment, palliative care and rehabilitation, nurses take care of kidney disease patients of all ages and at all stages of the disease. Nephrology nurses must identify patient needs, as well as give advice and provide information in order to prevent complications and slow the progress of the patient’s kidney disease.

Nephrology nurses have a central function in the work with kidney disease patients whose treatment cannot be started or needs to be stopped, and where death is inevitable. This requires knowledge of the various kidney diseases, their causes, symptoms, diagnosis, different treatments and prognoses. Nurses also need to have knowledge of the side effects that can arise during treatment and what can be done to prevent or alleviate these.

Organization of the study programme

The study programme is organized as a two-year part-time programme. Each semester consists of on-campus sessions and work placements. The on-campus sessions are combined with study groups. Students are encouraged to work in study groups between sessions.

Work placement

The study programme includes three three-week periods of mandatory work experience. One work placement is at Oslo University Hospital (Rikshospitalet), with a focus on transplant surgery. The other two will be in hospitals where the student is not employed. The focus of these work placements is haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, outpatient clinics and renal wards.

Incorporation into a Master’s degree

The continuing education programme can be counted towards the first part of the Master’s degree in Clinical Nursing, which will start in autumn 2020.