Peritoneal to Hemo

[cn2007rn]

Just wanted to get some opinions out there:

I am Peritoneal dialysis nurse currently, I have been working as a PD nurse for about 1.5 years, before that I worked on renal/diabetic med-surg floor. My PD position is full-time but I am interested in cross-training to Hemo, possibly working in hemo on Satuday's for my clinic. How long would it take for me to train for HD? I know dialysis labs and meds and of course PD, but it seems like there a lot of components to HD, do you think my administrator would even be interested in training me in HD if I can only work 1 day a week for them??

Please tell me your opinions! Thanks!

[MizChelleRN]

Your career path sounds EXACTLY like mine....I did 12 years on med/surg/renal/pd/diabetic ed and switched to hemp (outpt chronic). I even sold myself in the interview as the perfect candidate because of that experience ....hey I even knew how to draw blood or give meds via dialysis catheter if the situation called for it. But what I knew, what I had done, had really very little advantage over anyone else :) what I knew about dialysis was nothing compared to what I would learn in upcoming classes.

To learn hemodialysis you would have to commit to full time training and classes which take anywhere from 6-12 weeks depending on the company, and for RNs it will take AWHILE to become truly proficient. Some say a year and I agree. It is very technical and involves another layer of critical thinking.

I'd love to advise you to do it, you'll always have a job in hemo but you'd have to really learn before you could casually pick up days on the weekends.....in fact, it seems like you should commit to hd full time and pick up pd or m/s casually.

Best of luck....let us know what you decide!