NephroPlus Kidney Care Clinics has launched a comprehensive training institute ‘Enpidia’ in Hyderabad for dialysis technicians and nurses. The certification programme at Enpidia will be administered by US-based agency thereby setting training standards to an international level. The training program focuses mainly on bringing the much-needed standardization to dialysis training in India, and ensuring quality kidney care for one and all. The new institute will be located at East Marredpally, Secunderabad. The first batch starts on March 12 and the last date for applications is March 9.

The initiative is a precursor to the World Kidney Day being observed on March 8 annually. The objective of Enpidia, NephroPlus is to ensure that the training is recognized by dialysis units across the world. The course is also designed according to international standards and the entire course material is that used in similar training programmes abroad.

“The training programme is a rigorous two-year full-time course that comprises both theory and practicals. The theory classes will be taken by experts from the industry including nephrologists, other doctors, biochemistry professors and dialysis technicians with decades of experience. The course will have examinations at regular intervals and the results of these examinations will decide the stipends which the trainees will get during the next period,” says Vikram Vuppala, founder and CEO, NephroPlus.

Stipends will start right after the third month of training and can go up to Rs. 7,500 per month in the second year. The course fee is Rs. 12,000 every six months and it is highly likely that the trainees can recover their entire course fee and much more by the end of the course. People with this certification will be eligible for jobs in countries such as the US, UK, Canada, the Middle East and of course, India, he added.

NephroPlus which provides services like haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplants will also be offering jobs to some of these candidates as it plans to open many more centres in the coming months. The course will fill two important gaps: first is the creation of well-trained and certified professionals who can run dialysis units. Secondly it will create job opportunities for the candidates as they will be trained according to international standards.

Most of the candidates are expected to be graduates from various disciplines though some candidates who have passed Class 12 or the Intermediate level will also be allowed to take the course. Nurses who have completed the B. Sc. (Nursing) degree or the GNM / ANM degree will be given a separate certification and will be eligible for higher stipends. Technicians and nurses currently working in dialysis units who want to get trained and certified according to international standards can also apply.

According to Kamal D Shah, co-founder and director, NephroPlus, many dialysis technicians and nurses do not have the necessary training or qualifications to work at the nephro units which is a huge risk for patients.  Though there are training programmes in the country many of them are not rigorous and thorough enough to train people in dialysis. Candidates who come out of these programmes do not have the necessary theoretical knowledge to effectively look after dialysis patients. Most of them are taught procedures in a mechanical manner.”