Considering move to dialysis, any input?

[humglum, BSN, RN]

Hello, renal/urology/dialysis nurses!

First let me say that I've been reading this forum for a *long* time, because I've always been interested in dialysis, and because the people who post here are so incredibly helpful and well-informed.

I'm a relatively new nurse (2 years last month), and I've worked in adult med/surg/oncology and now am working in pediatric/adolescent behavioral health. After thinking about it for awhile, I finally decided to take the plunge and apply for a dialysis position.

So I applied to two places, a Gambro clinic and a DaVita one. I've heard back from Gambro already (about a day after I sent my resume), and they've sent me an application I'm to fax to them and they'll be in touch with me later this week. Still waiting to hear from DaVita, although I didn't apply with them until late Thursday night/Friday evening, so I expect to hear something after the weekend.

So, then, I guess I'm just looking for some information. What questions should I ask during my interview? I've seen a lot of talk in this forum about patient turnover and nurse to patient ratios. What's a good ratio? How many patient shifts are there in your clinic? What questions do you wish you'd asked/what information would you have liked to have before you took your position? Any help would be appreciated.

Also, if you have any information (anecdotal or otherwise) specific to the companies I've mentioned, I'd appreciate that, too.

Thanks so much!