A transplant surgeon designee is a registered nurse certified to identify dialysis patients who may benefit from transplantation, educate people with kidney disease about the most up-to-date transplant alternatives, and help facilitate the transplant process. These professionals are a vital part of a web of outreach efforts aimed at making transplantation available to anyone who is eligible.
Dorothy Sheridan, R.N., a nurse at the Renal Institute of New Jersey, a dialysis center in Toms River, was motivated to become a surgeon designee because she says, “I am astounded by the changes taking place in renal medicine. It makes me feel good that in a small way I can be a part of making transplantation happen for someone.”
The Transplant Surgeon Designee Program, developed by the Saint Barnabas Renal and Pancreas Transplant Center in 1992, has served as a model for other states in fulfilling federal guidelines that insure each person on dialysis has the chance to learn about the opportunity for kidney transplantation. Annual recertification programs offer continuing education for all nurses who have direct contact with individuals with end stage renal disease.
“The Saint Barnabas Transplant Centers are up-to-date on all the current transplantation issues. I learn something new every time I attend their program,” says Ms. Sheridan, whose career in nursing spans 23 years.
In 2001, some 260 nurses were certified as transplant surgeon designees – with at least one designee in each dialysis center in the state.
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