NEW YORK—The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has started a collaboration with the Renal Fellow Network in which RFN’s blog content will be fully integrated with the NKF’s website.
RFN is a research-related blog that provides a forum for the discussion of nephrology cases, scientific papers and challenging clinical topics.
“This blog, which features updated content daily, was initiated in 2008 by Dr. Nathan Hellman as an educational resource for nephrology fellows,” said Conall O' Seaghdha, MD, RFN editor and Clinical Research Fellow, the Framingham Heart Study. “While the writing style is deliberately concise and at times humorous, the content is of high quality, presenting the cutting edge of nephrology research in an easily digestible format. After Dr. Hellman’s tragic death last winter, I became editor and have gradually built up a talented core of writers from across the United States.”
The blog, which is endorsed by the American Society of Nephrology and deemed a "Web Favorite" by the International Society of Nephrology, averages 45,000 page views and 22,000 site visits per month. Approximately 45 percent of the readers are fellows, 20 percent are attending physicians, 20 percent are residents or medical students and 5 percent are involved in full-time research. NKF’s kidney.org averages 1.1 million page views and 410,000 site visits each month. More than 70 percent of visitors to kidney.org are new to the site.
“We hope this collaboration will expand the audience for this blog and are excited by its potential to stimulate new directions in clinical research. NKF has a longstanding commitment to fostering the careers of nephrology fellows and anticipate that the blog will promote interest in the pursuit of research careers and may ultimately enhance quality of care for kidney patients” said Dolph Chianchiano, NKF Senior Vice President for Research and Public Policy.
NKF’s goal in merging RFN into kidney.org is to provide an integrated hub for all nephrology practitioners, providing useful and up- to-date clinical and research information, and serving as a comprehensive resource for information on grants, fellowships and all information relevant to nephrologists at every stage of their careers.
“We are delighted to team up with NKF and hope the collaboration will further raise the profile of the site, allowing us to reach an even wider audience,” said Dr. Matthew Sparks, co-editor of RFN, who is a nephrology fellow at Duke University.
