The Spring Clinical Meetings (SCM) is NKF's premiere educational event designed for the interprofessional kidney health team. SCM presents a unique opportunity for busy renal health care professionals to explore innovation, research, and best clinical practice within nephrology.
Dr. Silvi Shah is a board-certified nephrologist at the University of Cincinnati. She is a physician-scientist, and her research focuses on women’s health in kidney disease including pregnancy, sex disparities in kidney disease, kidney in cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Shah is a chair of and a speaker during the SCM session Prioritizing Women’s Health in Kidney Disease: An Interprofessional Approach. The session will focus on empowering attendees with valuable insights focused on prioritizing women’s health in the context of kidney disease. Dr. Shah’s presentation is titled Balancing Reproductive Health and Kidney Disease: Navigating Family Planning and Contraception for Patients.
Ahead of SCM, being held from May 14th to the 18th, Doximity sent Dr. Shah a set of questions to have her reflect on the upcoming conference.
How would you characterize the theme of this year’s conference? What key topics stand out to you most, and what major questions will be addressed?
The National Kidney Foundation's conference this year focuses on health equity. Key topics that stand out include xenotransplantation, women's health, and nutrition with kidney disease.
What conversations are you hoping that the conference fosters?
I particularly enjoy attending the National Kidney Foundation conference. It provides a great platform to network with attendees, develop collaborations, and learn about upcoming innovations in nephrology.
Is there a speaker or presentation that you are most looking forward to, and why?
I am chairing the session on "Prioritizing Women's Health in Kidney Disease" and am looking forward to it the most. As we all know, women's health with kidney disease continues to be understudied and under-treated. We have some excellent talks on sexual health, family planning, contraception, and pregnancy-related acute kidney injury in this session.
What are the major takeaways you hope physicians walk away with after the conference?
I hope our session will increase awareness and knowledge about women's health with kidney disease. Kidney disease is associated with disruption of the hypothalamic gonadal axis and sexual dysfunction. Pregnancy in women with kidney disease is not uncommon and is associated with a higher risk of adverse fetal and maternal outcomes. Therefore, it becomes critical that we counsel patients about their reproductive health and include them in shared decision-making.
Dr. Shah has no conflicts of interest to report.
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