Leading the Conversation in Kidney Care: Meet an AANP Community Co-Chair
A nephrology nurse practitioner and kidney transplant survivor shares how collaboration through the AANP Urology and Nephrology Community is advancing practice and patient care.
March is National Kidney Month, a time to recognize not just these important organs but the nurse practitioners (NPs) and other health care providers working to prevent, diagnose and manage kidney disease. For Margaret Butler, MSN, APRN, NP-C, CNN-NP, kidney care is both professional and deeply personal. Butler practices in Vermont caring for patients receiving hemodialysis and those managing chronic kidney disease (CKD). She also serves as co-chair of the AANP Urology and Nephrology Community, helping connect NPs across the country who share an interest in kidney and urologic care.
Her perspective on nephrology comes from multiple angles — as a clinician, a collaborator and a kidney transplant survivor.
A Personal Journey into Nephrology
Butler’s experience with nephrology began not as a provider, but as a patient. Prior to becoming an NP, Butler was working as a dialysis nurse when, as part of a routine physical for a per diem job, was informed that tests had detected blood in her urine, microscopic hematuria. For a few years, Butler saw urologists and made primary care visits to follow up. After moving to Vermont, Butler continued to take tests and see health care providers and over time was referred to nephrology. Butler was told that her “kidney function was starting to deteriorate,” she recalls. “We did some chemotherapy-type drugs and high dose prednisone to try and attack it,” she says. “But it was a just a very progressive course, and I went from diagnosis to needing a kidney transplant in eight years. I was fortunate that my brother was an eligible donor, and I received my kidney from my brother.” That experience continues to shape how Butler approaches patient care today, and how she mentors fellow NPs through AANP Urology and Nephrology Community.
Why Nephrology Appeals to Nurse Practitioners
As co-chair of the AANP Urology and Nephrology Community, Butler regularly connects with NPs who are exploring the specialty for the first time. Before deciding on nephrology as a specialty, Butler worked as a respiratory therapist. “I decided I wanted a little bit more,” she recalls, and the challenge of dialysis and nephrology appealed to her. “Nephrology was very technical,” she says, “and I gravitated towards that, and have been there ever since.” In addition to her personal connection to nephrology as a kidney patient, Butler finds that her specialty appeals to her analytically. She says nephrology is ideal for the NP who “likes the intellectual challenge of solving a problem when it comes to advanced thought processes about what’s going on with the body, and the chemistries within the body, such as acid-base balance…it’s a challenge for most people to think about these things, but I enjoy that challenge.”
Advancing Kidney Care
Additionally, nephrology is an exciting specialty thanks to the new advancements in kidney care. Rapid advances in therapies for kidney disease are one reason Butler believes professional communities are so important. Through the AANP Urology and Nephrology Community, NPs share clinical updates, discuss emerging research and learn from colleagues across the country.
“There are a lot of new therapies for polycystic kidney disease and other kidney diseases such as IgA Nephropathy,” Butler says. “It seems like there’s a lot of new medications on the market these days that we didn’t have in the past, and now we finally have some more therapies to treat these folks and help them in preventing end-stage renal disease.”
Alongside her work in a clinical setting and as a community co-chair, Butler is also involved in promising research with the polycystic kidney disease community. “We have some exciting medications out there that are in clinical trials that potentially could halt polycystic kidney disease,” Butler explains. “That’s very exciting…to be able to have a genetic disease that you can potentially halt.”
Building Connections Through the Community
Butler says that she became co-chair of the Urology and Nephrology Community in part to “entice people to engage” with the specialty. One of her goals as community co-chair is to create a space where NPs can collaborate and learn from one another. “Nephrology can feel complex when you’re first entering the field,” she says. “The community gives NPs a place to ask questions, share experiences and support each other.”
When asked what kind of guidance has motivated her over the years, Butler immediately responds with her favorite piece of advice: “Ask the patient about their disease. You’re going to learn so much about a disease if you just ask the patient.” She also counsels NPs to find colleagues in other specialties to assist in collaboration. “Find that NP; they’re more than willing to share knowledge, especially when you have a tough case.”
The community also helps NPs navigate challenging cases and stay current with evolving best practices. “There’s always an NP who has seen something similar before,” Butler says. “That collaboration ultimately leads to better care for patients.”
Connect With the Urology and Nephrology Community
For NPs interested in kidney or urologic care, the AANP Urology and Nephrology Community offers opportunities to connect with peers, share expertise and stay current on developments in the specialty. As co-chair, Butler encourages NPs to participate. “You don’t have to be a specialist to join,” she says. “If you’re curious about nephrology or caring for patients with kidney disease, this community is a great place to learn.”
Are you looking for more resources on kidney care? Register for the 2026 AANP National Conference in Las Vegas, June 23-27, to take part in specialty sessions including “Caring for Dialysis Patients in Primary Care,” “Dialysis Decoded: KDOQI Essentials for NPs” and “Chronic Kidney Disease Management in Primary Care.”