I'm Robert S. Gillespie, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatric nephrologist and the creator of KidneyWeb.
Early in my career, in the beginning of this century (yikes), I noticed a distinct need for patient education handouts tailored to the unique needs of pediatric nephrology. Most patient education materials, even today, are targeted to adults and don't address the unique needs and unusual diagnoses we encounter in our field. Finding handouts in Spanish was even harder, so I began writing my own handouts to fill this gap. As an experiment, I shared them on a very basic web page called “Rob’s Pediatric Resource Center” on Geocities in 2004. The response went far beyond my expectations! Doctors and other professionals from around the world wrote to tell me how much they appreciated these materials. These were so well received that in 2006 I set up a more official website, KidneyWeb.net, to host all the handouts, and more.
To put it in perspective, in 2006:
The Internet was relatively new to most people
The iPhone had not been introduced
Most doctors carried numeric pagers
Few doctors had their own mobile phones
Those who did used simple mobile phones that didn't have the ability to run applications, or early devices such as Palm Pilots or Blackberries that had very limited capabilities
Most medical facilities relied on paper charts
Social media barely existed, mainly as MySpace. "TheFacebook," as it was called, was restricted to college students
KidneyWeb was a bold and advanced venture at that time. Earlier versions of KidneyWeb included various paper forms and digital tools and templates to help automate charting and daily tasks, and links to other websites relevant to nephrology. That content is obsolete in today's world, but the need for high-quality, accessible patient education remains. And so KidneyWeb continues, as a repository for those handouts.
That said, I wonder how many people still use this site today, and whether there's value in keeping it online. If you find this site helpful, I would love for you to drop me a line and let me know!
A Little More About Me
I earned my Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Washington. I did my residency at what is now Dell Children's in Austin, and my fellowship at Seattle Children's. I now practice pediatric nephrology in Fort Worth, Texas and surrounding areas.
I have published many articles in scientific and popular publications, including Trains, Classic Trains, Michigan History, eMedicine.com, Pediatrics in Review and Pediatric Nephrology. I serve on the faculty of the Texas Christian University Burnett School of Medicine and the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of North Texas. I have been interviewed by KIII-TV (ABC), KZTV (CBS) and KORO (Univision) in south Texas, and WFAA in Dallas. I have also served as a consultant to the Food and Drug Administration, and as a reviewer for scientific journals, including Pediatric Nephrology, Pediatrics and Nature Clinical Practice: Nephrology. I'm the author of two books, Robert's Review of Pediatric NephrologyandRobert's Review of Adult Nephrology.
In addition to KidneyWeb, I created RailwaySurgery.org to share and honor the legacy of railway surgeons and Army hospital train staff.
In my free time I enjoy camping, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with my wife, two sons and two dogs.
