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AST 2015 Educational Needs Assessment Survey

AST Educational Needs Assessment Survey
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Questions marked with an * are required
 
 
In this section, we want to know a little bit about you.
 
 
 
* Which BEST describes you? (please choose one)
 
Administrator
 
Histocompatibility Specialist
 
Nurse (RN or NP)
 
Pharmacist
 
Physician
 
Physician/Scientist
 
Physician Assistant
 
Psychologist/Social Worker
 
Researcher/Scientist
 
Surgeon
 
Surgeon/Scientist
 
Transplant Coordinator
 
Other
 
 
 
 
Affiliation
 
Academic
 
Government or Military
 
Hospital
 
Industry
 
Organ Procurement Organization
 
Standalone Private Practice
 
Other
 
 
 
 
* US residents, enter your 5-digit zip code. If non-US, enter 00000 (five zeros).
   
 
 
 
Please enter your level of experience/years in practice.
 
Not yet in training
 
In training (resident)
 
In training (fellow)
 
<5 years
 
6-10 years
 
11-15 years
 
16-20 years
 
21+ years
 
 
How many patients’ care are you in a position to influence on an annual basis in each of these categories?
1-25 26-99 100-499 >500 N/A
Solid organ transplant recipients before and/or after transplantation
Living organ donors
 
 
 
In this section, we want to know how you like to learn, where you usually go for education, and what makes you choose an educational activity.
 
 
Do you FREQUENTLY participate in educational activities in each of the following formats?
Yes No
* Print
* Online (something I can complete on my own time)
* Online (something scheduled for a set date/time)
* Live Meeting (national)
* Live Meeting (local)
 
 
 
* If you had to choose, which of the following types of educational material/format is the SINGLE MOST important to you in achieving the goal of improving patient care? (Basic scientists: consider this question in terms of the goal of aiding your research program.)
 
Case Scenarios
 
Treatment Guidelines
 
Literature Reviews
 
Journal Club
 
Webinars
 
Reference Tools
 
Other
 
 
 
 
* Do you use the patient education materials on the AST website? (check all that apply)
 
I currently use and/or recommend the materials to patients
 
I download the material, modify it and use it with our patients
 
I do not use them, as there is enough information currently available elsewhere online
 
I do not use them, as we prefer our own center-specific materials
 
I do not use the materials, I did not know they were there
 
Not applicable to me (I do not see patients)
 
Other
 

 
 
How important to your personal educational development is each of the following providers of education?
Very Important to Me Important to Me Not Important to Me Do Not Use
* My institution or another institution
* AST
* A professional society other than AST
* Accredited medical education company (e.g. Medscape)
* Pharmaceutical/industry-provided education (non-CME)
* Seeking out independent education on my own
 
 
 
* Would you turn down an educational activity if continuing education credit was not available, even if the topic is of interest to you?
 
Yes, CE credit is a must
 
No, I would still participate in the activity
 
 
 
Feel free to add an optional comment regarding the previous question about CE credit.
   
 
 
 
* Select each factor that INFLUENCES YOUR DECISION TO PARTICIPATE in an educational activity.

Leave an item un-checked if it does not influence your decision to participate.
 
Available to review/complete at my convenience (on demand)
 
Interactive format
 
Cost is within my budget
 
Thought leader/expert faculty
 
Acceptable time commitment
 
I can access useful resources and tools for my practice
 
MOC points available (for board recertification)
 
Proximity to where I live (if a live meeting)
 
Check here and include a comment if there's an influencing factor we missed.
 

 
 
Rate the significance of each barrier you've encountered in applying new knowledge/skills into practice (clinical or research setting).
Not a Barrier Small Barrier Medium Barrier Large Barrier
* Lack of time
* Financial resources (e.g. reimbursement)
* Limited staff/manpower
* Limited by hospital/institution administration policies
* No support from colleagues
* Lack of scientific evidence to apply knowledge/skills into practice
 
 
 
* Choose all of the specialties in which you require educational instruction.
For each specialty you choose, you will be given a list of approximately 10 topics to rank in importance.
After that, you’ll be able to enter your own topic suggestions in an open-ended question.

If you don't see your specialty on the list, you'll still be able to enter your own topic suggestions.
 
Basic Science
 
Cardiology/Pulmonology/Critical Care
 
Diagnostics/Pathology
 
Infectious Disease
 
Live Donors
 
Liver and Intestines
 
Kidney/Pancreas
 
Pediatric
 
Pharmacy
 
Psychosocial
 
Regenerative Medicine
 
Transplant Administration
 
Vascular Composite Allotransplantation
 
Women’s Health
 
I don't see my specialty on this list
 

 
 
Basic Science: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Power calculations and biostatistics for experimental transplant immunology
* Genetic analysis in transplantation: benefits and pitfalls of different platforms (microarray, nano string)
* Computational immunology (new platforms for data analysis/ SPADE/ self-organizing maps, etc.)
* micro RNA-mediated control of alloimmunity
* CRISPR/Cas system for genome editing in transplantation
* Pyrosequencing of microbiota
* Advances in flow cytometry: CyTOF
* Improved fundamental understanding of human immune responses
* Mouse models in transplantation: opportunities and limitations
* Impact of epigenetic remodeling on the interpretation of our experiments
 
 
 
* My primary interest is
 
Cardiology
 
Pulmonology/Critical Care
 
Both
 
 
Cardiology/Pulmonology/Critical Care: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Significance, identification and treatment of post-thoracic transplant circulating antibodies (includes HLA, non-HLA, non-specific and donor-specific antibodies)
* Approach to the sensitized patient awaiting thoracic organ transplantation.
* Thoracic donor organ selection – standard and extended criteria donors.
* Use of ex-vivo donor organ systems and donation after circulatory death (DCD) in thoracic transplantation
* Perioperative Inflammation and immunologic sequelae in thoracic transplantation
* Understanding thoracic organ primary graft dysfunction
* Thoracic organ US allocation issues – Current and future areas for discussion
* Pulmonary hypertension – Management approach including thoracic organ transplantation
* Approach to mechanical support in end-stage thoracic organ disease
* The role of mTor-inhibitors in thoracic organ transplantation
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Role of induction therapy in thoracic transplantation: Search for evidence
* Role of prolonged corticosteroids in thoracic organ transplantation
* Short term support for failing patients: Role of VV and VA ECMO
* Lung Support Devices: ECMO and beyond
* Novel immunosuppressants: Applicability to thoracic organ transplantation?
* Microbiome of the heart and lung transplant recipient and impact on outcome
* Update on immune monitoring of the thoracic organ recipient
 
 
Diagnostics/Pathology: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Interpretation of therapeutic drug monitoring results: analytical variability and therapeutic ranges
* Antibody-mediated rejection in non-renal transplants
* Borderline Change and T cell mediated rejection in renal allografts in the era of donor-specific antibodies
* Diagnosis of viral infections after solid organ transplantation
* Changing spectrum of polyomavirus BK infection the era of routine screening
* The molecular microscope as a diagnostic tool in renal allograft biopsies
* The pathology of drug toxicity in the transplanted kidney
* An update on current concepts in donor specific antibody testing
* Molecular methods of HLA typing
 
 
Infectious Disease: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* CMV – what are the best preventive strategies? What is the role of immune based assays in prevention strategies?
* PTLD/EBV – what are the best preventive strategies? What are the indications for rituximab?
* Vaccines and optimizing immune response before and after transplantation – what is the ideal timing and schedule for vaccines in transplant recipients?
* MDRO – what is the impact of pre- and post-transplant MDRO colonization? What are the risk factors and outcomes associated with MDRO?
* HIV-transplants – what are the modifiable risk factors for rejection in HIV+ liver and kidney recipients? Will outcomes improve with better HCV therapies?
* Fungal Infections and prophylaxis – what are the indications for antifungal prophylaxis in SOT recipients?
* Mycobacterial infections – what is the best approach to diagnose LTBI and prevent TB in SOT recipients?
* Donor-derived infections – what infected donors can be accepted for organ transplantation and what strategies are known to minimize risk of transmission?
* Respiratory Viruses – what is the impact of respiratory virus infection in lung transplant recipients?
* VAD infections – what is the best treatment strategy for VAD infections in patients awaiting heart transplantation?
 
 
 
* Do you need education in pediatric specific transplant infectious diseases?
 
Yes
 
No
 
 
Live Donors: Rate each educational topic's importance to you. Here are more complete descriptions of each topic below.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Limits to preemptive living kidney donation: When is it “too preemptive”?
* Variable renal risks in living kidney donor candidates
* An increased risk associated with donation
* Disparities in both minority living kidney donors and recipients of living donor kidneys
* Current resources and future efforts to minimize the financial impact of living kidney donation
* Updating the medical evaluation and counseling of living liver donors
* Informed consent in the shared transaction of living kidney donation
* Paired donation (KPD) versus desensitization for immunologically incompatible pairs
* Maximizing efficient living donor evaluations and care
* Complex psychosocial issues in donor candidates
 
 
Liver and Intestines: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Cardiopulmonary risk assessment and monitoring of the liver transplant candidate
* Management and prevention of post transplant metabolic syndrome in liver recipients
* ICU care of pre and post liver transplant recipients: When is the patient too sick to transplant?
* Obesity management pre and post transplant (e.g. role of bariatric surgery in cirrhotics, post transplant nutrition counseling, etc.)
* HCV treatment in solid organ transplant patients
* Role of DSA in Liver and Liver-Kidney transplant patients
* Role of biomarkers in diagnosis, treatment, and management of solid organ transplant recipients
* Non invasive markers of non alcoholic fatty liver disease / NASH pre– and post transplant
* Assessment of renal function in cirrhotic patients
* Old age and frailty in liver transplantation: Evaluation of end stage organ failure patients for listing, and management of older and/or frail transplant candidates
 
 
Kidney and Pancreas: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Management of immunosuppression in the setting of acute infectious complications and malignancy
* Evaluation and management of a failing allograft
* Evaluation and follow-up of living donors
* Immunosuppressive therapies in older transplant recipients
* Most common virus and fungal complications post-transplantation
* Management of cardiovascular complications pre and post transplantation: Best tests for patients with kidney disease and how to risk stratify
* New allocation system and management of the recipient wait-list and long terms effects on recipient wait list
* Measurement of donor specific antibodies monitoring and treatment strategies: How to integrate into clinical practice, treatment decisions, and monitoring
* What is the best management of chronic humoral rejection?
* Medicine non-adherence and tools to improve medication adherence in high risk patient populations
* Recurrent kidney disease post-transplantation: How to monitor, how to treat?
* How are hyperparathyroidism and osteopenia/osteoporosis best managed following the transplant event?
* What is the best strategy for cancer surveillance following transplant (breast, colon, prostate, skin, cervical, renal), including among patients with failed transplants?
* What are successful strategies for maintaining medication coverage following the loss of Medicare 3 years after transplant?
* Medically high risk patients and current status- including HIV+ pts, AL amyloid pts, elderly patients
 
 
 
* What would your practice need to apply the new knowledge for the goal of improving patient care? 
 
Trained pharmacist
 
Additional nursing staff for patient education
 
Physician assistant
 
Other

 
 
General Pediatrics: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Transition to adult care: What are the data regarding outcomes of pediatric recipients post-transition, what are the metrics for successful transition, and what activities, programs and tools (print, Web, mobile, etc) provide the most impact on transition readiness, healthcare self-management and adherence?
* Approach to multi-organ transplant in pediatrics (liver/kidney, heart/liver, heart/kidney, etc)
* Prevention, diagnosis and management of antibody-mediated graft injury
* Solid organ failure in neonates and infants
* Re-transplantation: Who, when, and how to ensure best outcome
* Developing a multi-disciplinary transplant team, including engagement of the PCP and role definition for each member
* Immunosuppression withdrawal/minimization: Which to try, who to try it for, and how to do it
* Organ allocation: Defining the rights of children to transplant, developing consistency between the different organs in terms of pediatric priorities, and developing a strategy to implement new allocation policies
* Managing recurrent disease post-transplant
* Infectious disease issues: Prevention of infection (resistant infections) in hospitalized transplant patients and best strategies for maximizing vaccination and vaccination response pre- and post-solid organ transplant
 
 
Pediatric Cardiology: Rate this educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Use of devices as a bridge to transplantation
 
 
Pediatric Gastroenterology/Hepatology: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Role of extracorporeal support (MARS et al) as a bridge to liver transplantation
* How to optimize the potential of splitting suitable organs to maximize utility of donated livers
* Referral for liver transplantation: Why, when and how best to do it
 
 
Pediatric nephrology: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Examine pediatric aspects of paired kidney donation and the involvement of pediatric candidates in PKD schemes
* The role of dialysis in the peri-operative management of the non-renal solid organ transplant recipient
 
 
Pediatric Intestinal: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Evolving indications for intestine transplantation – e.g. is there a quality of life indication?
* When should a liver be included with an intestinal transplant?
 
 
 
* Do you feel that pediatric topics are sufficiently represented at AST/ASTS meetings (including the American Transplant Congress)?
 
Yes
 
No
 
 
 
Feel free to add a comment on the question above regarding pediatric topics at meetings (do not use this space to suggest additional topics, you will have a chance to do that in the next section).
   
 
 
Pharmacy: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Meeting CMS policies and requirements for transplant pharmacists in all phases of care
* Ambulatory Transplant Pharmacy hot topics (insurance issues, patient assistance programs, clinic expansion and/or coverage, etc)
* Pharmacist/physician collaborative practice agreements, benefits of these arrangements and strategies for implementation
* Patient education best practices (medication counseling, use of technology, etc.)
* Role of the pharmacist in the management of living donors
* Managing adverse effects/toxicity of Immunosuppression
* Role of decision support tools to guide transplant medication prescribing
 
 
Psychosocial: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Strategies to improve recipient readiness and reduce disparities
* Screening and intervention for substance use (e.g. nicotine, alcohol, marijuana)
* Assessment of voluntariness for living donors (i.e. coercion, payment, residency status)
* Psychosocial aspects of transition of the newly adult, new patient
* Assessment issues for patients requiring re-transplant, esp. in cases where self-care problems contributed to graft failure
* Strategies for conducting an appropriate psychosocial evaluation for prospective living VCA donor
* Best practices and training for the independent living donor advocate
* Reducing disparities in access to and outcomes of transplantation
* Optimizing informed consent to inform donors and recipients about possible psychological and financial risks
 
 
Transplant Regenerative Medicine: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* What are the mature functions/capabilities of Pluripotent stem-derived cells per specialized organ (i.e. liver, pancreas, kidney, heart, lung, etc)?
* What are the regeneration-responsive capabilities of Pluripotent stem-derived cells after transplantation in disease models?
* What are the strategies to induce enhanced engraftment and organ repopulation after cell therapy?
* What are the best cell sources to bioengineer organs?
* What is the transplantability of bioengineered organs?
* What are the major obstacles to transplant functional bioengineered organs?
* What large animal models can be used/produced to grow/culture/bioengineer human organs?
* What are the target mechanisms to induce regeneration in organs?
* What degenerative diseased organs can be targeted for reprogramming health by resetting the transcription factor networks?
* What are the most effective and safe technologies for gene editing/replacement in cell/tissue/organs (AAV vectors, nucleotides, etc)?
 
 
Transplant Administration: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Transplant Finance 101: Understanding and complying with the Medicare Cost Report, acquisition cost centers, Standard Acquisition Charge development and application
* Strategies to deal with administrative issues in KPD
* Building blocks of a Transplant QAPI plan/FQAPI
* CMS COP basics
* UNOS/OPTN basics
* SRTR basics
* Advanced topics (improving competence and performance)
* Change management
* Emerging Ex Vivo Perfusion Technologies - Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion, Organ Care System (Heart) Expand, Liver, What are they? How will they impact our transplant volumes? How will we pay for the expensive proprietary perfusion solutions?
* Vascular Composite Allograft - Where are we now? What is the potential for expansion into this field? Current long term care protocols? Efficacy? How are programs funding start ups? Ethics of VCA, with elective nature of many potential cases (cosmetic?), Transplant Center/OPO partnerships needed to move this forward, etc.
 
 
 
* What types of continuing education credits do you require?
 
CME credit for physicians (AMA PRA Category 1 Credits)
 
CEPTC
 
CEU nurse
 
ACPE/Pharmacy
 
None
 
Other
 

 
 
Vascular Composite Allotransplantation: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Immunosuppression protocols in VCA: What are the current standards?
* Treatment of cell- and antibody-mediated rejection
* Complications in VCA recipients secondary to immunosuppression
* Immune monitoring, predictive biomarkers, and non-invasive imaging strategies after VCA
* Immunosuppression minimization and tolerance protocols
* Functional outcomes after VCA: What can be achieved?
* How can we measure improvement in quality of life after VCA?
* Psychosocial evaluation of VCA recipients: Impact on post-transplant outcomes
* Assessment of technology advances to improve medication non-adherence and compliance after transplantation
* Clinical trial design for VCA
* Patient selection: How to help the patient articulate what they want and their understanding of risk/benefit of VCA
 
 
Women's Health: Rate each educational topic's importance to you.
Not interested Interested but have sufficient knowledge Interested & want/need to learn more
* Sexual health and functioning post-transplant (male and female)
* Optimizing birth control for the transplant recipient
* Fertility issues after organ transplantation
* Counseling transplant recipients about pregnancy
* Update on management of pregnancy in transplant recipients including: immunosuppression for stable patients, managing rejection during pregnancy, and obstetrical complications in recipients
* An update on the management of immunosuppression for men wanting to father children
* Menopause in the transplant recipient
* Evolving understanding of pregnancy in kidney donors
* Bone health in the transplant recipient
* Coronary artery disease in female transplant candidates (or recipients)
 
 
 
Just because your specialty isn't on our list, it doesn't mean your education isn't important to AST. The list was crafted to mirror our Communities of Practice, and we don't have a community for every specialty. Below you have a chance to tell us what educational topics are important to you in an open-ended format. Rest assured that your feedback is important to us!
 
 
 
Are there any other educational topics in your specialty area that were NOT already listed that you think will be important in the coming years? If so, list the specialty and the topic.
   
 
 
 
Please offer any additional suggestions/feedback that you think we’ve missed.
   
 
 
 
If you are willing to participate in a brief followup interview regarding AST's educational offerings, please provide your email address. (Your contact information will remain confidential and will not be shared in relation to your survey responses.) If you do not want to be contacted, leave this section blank.
   
 
 
 
You indicated you are not yet in training, in training, or under 5 years in practice. 
Our Trainee and Young Faculty Community of Practice wants to know just a few more things about you that will help AST meet your needs. 
 
 
 
Is there anything else that would be valuable for your ongoing education as a trainee/resident/fellow/young professional that has not already been addressed in this survey? (For example, anything that you need/anticipate needing to know as an attending that your current educational resources do not adequately address.)
   
 
 
Please categorize your need for each of the following career and knowledge development opportunities:
Not interested Have sufficient resources Need more resources
* Networking opportunities with peers
* Networking opportunities with mid-level and senior faculty
* Seminars focused on career pathways in transplantation
* Funding pathways and opportunities for junior investigators in transplantation
* Role of industry in transplantation
* Team science in transplantation
* Choosing and working with mentors in training and early career
* Searching, interviewing, and obtaining a position in transplant
* Searchable database of transplant training programs
 
 
 
* Have you attended the AST Fellows Symposium on Transplantation Medicine?
 
Yes
 
No, but I viewed meeting slides online after the conference
 
No
 
Every member's voice counts!