Acute dialysis travel

NedRN · Feb 22, 2021

That is an excellent question but let's think it through. Let's say half of all hospitals have one, and the other have the other one. That cuts your potential assignments in half if indeed they want prior experience. But that still makes you very employable as a dialysis traveler.

Mind you, I don't know very much about dialysis, but I've always thought clinics only (or mostly) do chronics, and hospitals do acutes on inpatients? Maybe the ED too. That is my observation from working many years in hospitals and occasionally running into a dialysis nurse (and I don't remember the reason, but I hung out in a dialysis clinic for a few hours once). Your post implies you do acutes working for the major companies.

So it depends on what setting you want to work, but you can do direct travel with the majors, or many independent agencies, some of whom specialize in dialysis travel. It is very possible to just do chronics and there are a lot more jobs for chronics than acutes.

IMOKAY, BSN · Feb 22, 2021

Thank you for your thoughtful response.

I guess what I really want to know is: Do the majority of acute travel jobs require experience with F machines? (Is one type of machine more common or prevalent than the other)

Or is it truly 50/50?

NedRN · Feb 23, 2021

OK, I can't think out a fact here! You'd be really lucky to catch a dialysis traveler here, but you can increase your odds a lot by posting that question on the urology forum. I see you have already posted there. To answer a question from that post, you will be filling out a skills checklist that should include dialysis equipment models. That checklist, along with the rest of the profiles will be sent to facilities with an open assignment. Presumably the ones that insist on specific model competency would rule you out (and might be ruled out by the agency screening anyway and not submitted at all). Any that interview you won't, and in that interview you can clarify your skills and competencies and ask questions.

To really get a solid answer, you might have to turn to asking agencies. The ones that specialize in dialysis are more likely to know the answer on the top of their head. Might as well call a few now just for practice and to get your questions answered, you will have to do that at some point in any case. Beside obviously DaVita and Fresenius who have their own in-house travel divisions, there is Foundation Staffing, New Directions, Quik Travel, Renal Reserve, and The Fortus Group who specialize or have an emphasis on dialysis. Mind you, this list is probably out of date with some of the names out of business or absorbed into the two majors.

IMOKAY, BSN · Feb 23, 2021

NedRN, Thank you!