Acute vs. Chronic Dialysis????

nutella, MSN, RN · Mar 13, 2016

Hi. i'm currently working chronics and have done so for the last 10 years. i'm now considering switching to acutes. has anyone done this? was it a wise move or something you regret doing?? any advice will be greatly appreciated

I loved acutes - the actual work.

But first of all you may have different work hours,sometimes really long days. Frequent on call and if you are hired for more than one hospital you may have to travel during your on call. Things do not always go smoothly when you have to travel to a critical care area - from RO machine to waterflow issues and clogged sinks/toilets.

verdeacres · Mar 14, 2016

I currently work chronic too and don't think I would switch due to the on call schedule and the hours if another pt comes in, you have to stay. I am sure there area more thoughts on the subject here though.

Twinmom06, ASN, APN · Mar 15, 2016

I work acutes and while the days are long some times (I worked 2 12s and 2 14s last week), I could never work chronics, too many personalities in one place...

nutella, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2016

I work acutes and while the days are long some times (I worked 2 12s and 2 14s last week), I could never work chronics, too many personalities in one place...

not only that - but the work pace was killing me... plus the constant pressure on nurses who literally have to push gazillion meds and assess while the techs relax once the tx are running...

adsmithrn · Mar 20, 2016

Thanks for the advice so far. Any more will be greatly appreciated

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2016

To work in acutes you have to have an independent, autonomous personality. You also have to be willing to go with the flow and have no expectations about your work day. In chronics, you will love the continuity of care you get with your patients over a long period of time, you are on your feet a lot more, lots of busy work. Chronics is a routine and is fast paced, there can be drama from techs. The up side is having set work hours and being able to close and lock your doors. Acutes is interesting everyday, but you have to be willing to work the occasional 14-15 hour day without losing your mind. Your kid needs picked up? Too bad there's no relief for you. The $$$ potential is there in acutes- OT, call back pay, differentials. But you have to want that work environment. You can't expect to get the best of both worlds, which would be set work hours, no nights or Sunday's, working independently with 2 patients max. So you have to pick what is more important to you, weigh your pros and cons.