Any dialysis nurses here??

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 25, 2015

I am a dialysis nurse. We are a team. Techs are NOT there to do "scut work" for us, but are part of a team that cares for a very special population of people. These people, for many reasons, want to live or they would not be on dialysis. They have lives, are parents, grandparents and work for a living, many of them. The RNs are a part of the TEAM that cares for the patients. Each of us (MDs, RDs, Social Workers, Unit Secretaries and the clinic manager/charge nurse) has different roles, but no one is more "important" than the next one. Some people wait years for transplants,it's true, but when they get them, we celebrate their victories with them.

My techs are my eyes and ears and I trust them implicitly to keep me abreast to patient needs and changes and could never do my job without them. They are not my "scut" people, I wipe butts in the bathroom and help them with their work to keep things running smoothly. I love my coworkers and the patients, or I would not be able to do what I do.

Oh and the attitude that our patients are "terminal" is misplaced. I have several patients who have been on dialysis in excess of 25 years. They lead full and productive lives. If you think abou it, we are ALL "terminal" anyhow. Not the attitude to have if you want to be a dialysis nurse!

The pay is sufficient, or why would I do it at all? Any more questions?

Do we have any dialysis nurses among us? Is anyone willing to talk about what made you chose this type of nursing and why? I feel it must be particularly difficult to work with this population, everyday. As with Oncology nursing, your patients are "terminal." Yes, one can live for years on dialysis, but every year the chances of a transplant become fewer & fewer - for many reasons (including the quality of donors available.)
How does it work for you? Do you have a Tech to do "scut" work, or do you follow a PT for the entire session? Are you part of a "team," including RD's, Social Workers, MD's & Techs, with certain protocols, or are the RN's separate "team," integrating as they see fit? Is the pay sufficient compensation for what is expected? Thanks to anyone willing to respond!