932nd AES NCO among elite caregivers Published Feb. 27, 2006 By Lt. Col. Mary J. Abernethy 932 AES SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Tech. Sgt. Rico Walker, an aeromedical evacuation technician in the 932nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron since 1996, has accomplished something that many of his civilian peers have not. Sergeant Walker was recently notified that he passed a stringent national certification exam for dialysis technician practitioners. He has worked as a hemodialysis technician for the last 14 years and at Renal Care Group in St Louis for over three years. The certification serves a dual purpose according to Sergeant Walker. The extensive and intensive preparation “increases proficiency in this highly specialized, highly technical medical specialty and passing the exam bears witness to that proficiency,” he said. The exam focuses mainly on the complex care of patients in kidney failure, but it also validates expertise in the areas of dialysis technology, procedures, and equipment. The Board of Nephrology, Inc. Nursing and Technology (BONENT), the leading certification group of nephrology nurses and technologists/technicians, administers the exam globally. The Swansea, Ill., resident is in an elite group. To date, there are only 3,900 BONENT certified practitioners worldwide to care for the estimated 1,000,000 patients around the world with end stage kidney disease. When he sat for the exam in St Louis, there were 19 other people also taking it. Of those twenty, only three passed. Walker not only had to work around recent mobilization requirements, he also deployed for 18 months in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He passed the time by studying. Impressively to his coworkers, he passed the exam with his first effort. Sergeant Walker has been hitting the books a lot in the last year. In December, he completed requirements for an applied science degree (AAS) in Allied Health Sciences from the Community College of the Air Force.