Kellie R. Calderon1, Rajiv S. Vij1, Joseph Mattana1 and Kenar D. Jhaveri1 1Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System, Hofstra North Shore–LIJ School of Medicine, Great Neck, New York, USA Correspondence: Kenar D. Jhaveri, Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System, 100 Community Drive, 2nd Floor, Great Neck, New York 11021, USA. E-mail: Kjhaveri@nshs.edu Introduction American medical students have traditionally matriculated through a four-year medical education system with a clear distinction between the basic-science and the clinical years, a system that has changed little since the Flexner Report of 1910. Medical students and residents are often overwhelmed and may find insufficient time for reading as they enter the latter portion of their training. Nephrology has been facing a challenging phase, with difficulty in attracting prospective residents and medical students. Factors such as a lower income than those of some other specialties, a demanding lifestyle, and limited job opportunities in some parts of the country may contribute to this. However, it is plausible that the intellectual challenges of complex electrolyte disorders, acid–base disturbances, and dialysis may be intimidating to some trainees who otherwise might pursue a career in nephrology. Improved teaching methods might make nephrology more interesting and easier to understand and, in turn, could hopefully improve recruitment to the field. Traditional teaching has taken the form of didactic lectures, an approach that requires substantial time and resources and yet targets only one of the many learning styles of the learners. The best teaching tools are those that are effective and appealing and take advantage of the various ways students and trainees learn. E-learning and novel methods of nephrology education can provide a multidirectional means of education. Nephrologists around the world, ourselves included, have developed unique tools that we feel could make the field more attractive to medical students and residents. We also feel that these tools may allow fellows in training to better understand concepts and may serve as assessment tools as well. Here we review some teaching tools that have been developed for nephrology education.