Interviewing for dialysis with no dialysis experience???

westieluv · Nov 21, 2013

I wouldn't try to cram and fill your head with dialysis knowledge before the interview, that will just stress you out. I had no dialysis experience when I started out, and I didn't try to avoid that fact or dance around it, I just focused on my strengths as a nurse and as an employee during my interview. My whole attitude was like, "True, I don't know dialysis YET, but I am extremely organized, punctual, and willing to learn, and I have an excellent work history in the nursing field. I have taken care of renal patients on various med/surg telemetry floors and I am knowledgable in areas such as cardiac rhythms, electrolyte imbalances, and chronic, systemic illnesses, all of which apply to dialysis patients."

My favorite thing about being a dialysis nurse (and I work in acutes so this doesn't apply to all dialysis nursing positions) is being able to get out and about during the day, as opposed to having to stay on one floor of one hospital all day, and having new and different patients everyday.

The hardest thing about it for me is the erratic hours (again, not normally a problem in the chronic setting) and figuring out how to troubleshoot a difficult treatment.

The most important qualities in the acute setting are probably knowledge and flexability. I can't speak for chronics, I haven't done it.

I don't work for Davita so I can't address that question.

Specific questions depend on if you are interviewing for chronics or acutes. If it is for acutes, definitely ask about how much you will be expected to take after hours call.

ffliper27 · Nov 21, 2013

I just had my 2nd interview with Davita last week. I think it would be VERY helpful to know the 7 core values ( they are on the davita site) and its mission statement. I mentioned these to them during my first interview and the fact that I knew these probably had an impact on being invited to my 2nd interview. Another question that they'll prob ask ( almost 99% sure) is to tell them about your best strength / attribute, and also what your greatest weakness is. they also asked me why I chose Davita, before I went to the interview I also got on their website and learned as much as I could about it ( values, mission statement, what they do for the community), as they are VERY BIG on community service. Again, I mentioned all these things to them on my 1st interview, and I think that's what earned me my ticket to my 2nd interview.

I hope this helps.

fragino · Nov 25, 2013

Since you came from med-surg/tele, you've probably worked a lot with heart failure patients and their chronic fluid overload problems. It helped me a lot to have that experience.

Your experience with dialysis depends on whether you are going to work acutes or chronics. westieluv seems to be describing working as a dialysis nurse in acutes. Chronics are a lot more predictable. Your schedule/hours/patients do not change very much and you usually have other staff and nurses to work with, whereas in acutes if you take that machine down to a room, you are by yourself. The most PIA thing you have to learn is how to work and troubleshoot that machine.

Each of any individual clinics are run like an individual franchise and can vary very wildly. Some are great places to work and some can use some help.

ffliper27 · Nov 26, 2013

how is the training for acute different from the training for chronics? Both types of patients are on dialysis. Im just trying to understand why a RN who's been trained in acutes would not be able to do the job of the chronics RN and vice versa

fragino · Nov 26, 2013

With your work history and with enough dialysis experience there is no reason why you can't work both acutes and chronics. With chronics you may be taking care of up to 12 patients at a time (maybe more), but they are generally stable. Your acute is unstable enough to be in the hospital and may range from simple fluid overload to a post open heart, still in the ICU with multiple vasoactive drips.

A person with experience in chronics but not a lot of experience working with tele/step-down/icu patients may have a harder time transitioning to acutes.

schnookimz · Nov 26, 2013

With your work history and with enough dialysis experience there is no reason why you can't work both acutes and chronics. With chronics you may be taking care of up to 12 patients at a time (maybe more) but they are generally stable. Your acute is unstable enough to be in the hospital and may range from simple fluid overload to a post open heart, still in the ICU with multiple vasoactive drips. A person with experience in chronics but not a lot of experience working with tele/step-down/icu patients may have a harder time transitioning to acutes.[/quote']
While this is true about the acute patients, as a dialysis nurse, we aren't allowed to touch any of those drips or do anything much besides the dialysis. So if the patient begins going downhill, you sort of bail out and give the blood back and their primary RN will generally take over. You aren't expected to manage their drips.

Coleebee · Nov 27, 2013

I have worked in Chronics and currently work in Acutes. In my opinion they are 2 completely different animals. In Acutes you are the Dialysis Nurse, you don't have people around to help you with Dialysis. You are it. I found my years of PCU/ICU/Cath Lab very helpful with my transition to Acutes. However, I have mad respect for Med/Surg Nurses, they are some of the hardest working Nurses in the hospital. They deal with all sorts of patients, and while you may not see a lot of "cardiac", you see about everything else. With that being said I did Chronics first. I miss Chronics, I miss my stable patients, I miss having relationships with them. The Acute setting is fast paced, and kinda a fly by the seat of your pants experience. You may have a 6 hour day or a 16 hour day, you do not know.

ffliper27 · Nov 27, 2013

So, as Coleebee mentioned, the acute setting is fast paced. So is the chronic setting "not fast paced"? I would think that chronics is even faster paced, since you might be taking care of up to 10 - 12 patients. I'm somewhat confused.

westieluv · Nov 27, 2013

Chronics is fast paced but in a more scheduled, controlled, way. You pretty much know who you will be running and you have help in the form of techs and other nurses. Fast paced in acutes can mean that you get the word, at 5 PM after working all day, that you have two add-ons waiting in the ER, you're on call, and it's you, baby, and no one else to deal with them.

One of the many reasons why I am hoping to move to chronics ASAP. I know chronics is hard too, but I hate that "all alone" feeling in acutes, and most of the time being the only person in the building who knows dialysis. If you love autonomy, it's for you. If you love the security of having other dialysis staff nearby, it isn't.

Coleebee · Nov 27, 2013

When I worked Chronics I had a bad clinic :-( , bad management, bad techs and so on, but I do long for the more stable hours. I hate the On Call, I hate not sleeping well those nights and afraid of missing a phone call. I will probably make my way back to Chronics one day...I can't keep this up forever...I'm already exhausted. I won't go back to work for one of the big companies, I'd give the other one a try.

I enjoy Dialysis, I think it is way better than floor nursing. I have my bad days when I want to leave completely, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. When I think about how miserable I was working the floor (ICU) it puts things back into perspective for me. Until I get 5 add ons :-) such is the life of an Acute Dialysis nurse

fragino · Nov 28, 2013

Med/surg nurses are the bomb. Others may get more notice and glamour but like coleebee said..."mad respect" to all y'alls. westieluv is right on with the differences.