Anyone working or have worked for Davita

corky1272RN · Nov 13, 2009

If you are wanting general information about DaVita, then do a search and you should get a lot of previous threads with info. If you want specific info about an area or certain clinic it might be harder. :nurse:

Lacie, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2009

I applied initially on line and never recieved a response, so took upon myself to visit the nearest clinic and meet with the FA. She inquired on my application and I got the job almost immediately. Sometimes you have to be proactive and not wait around on them.

GeauxNursing · Nov 14, 2009

Someone has an opening posted, they get your resume/application. If they don't need it, they pass it around to their friends, the other area FAs, to see if anyone needs someone.

Most ppl at my clinic got hired because they worked at another clinic and they knew so-and-so who used to work there with so-and-so's sister, etc.

Not to offend someone in a situation such as yours, but I know my FA has to be really hard up for help before she will hire someone with no experience. It's expensive to train someone for 10+ weeks, then chances are, in my experience, they end up quitting their first week on the floor.

just my 2 cents. Good luck, though! I was hired fresh as a PCT before even thinking about going to nursing school.

GeauxNursing · Nov 14, 2009

I'm in DFW, by the way. There are so many Davita and FMC clinics in our area. Seriously, 10+ of each? If there's a Davita on Walnut Hill, there's an FMC around the corner. If there's a Davita Grapevine, there's an FMC Grapevine.

What part of the city are you in? Maybe I could tell you which clinics to scope out.

NURSET2007 · Nov 17, 2009

I am in the South DFW area. I do understand the politics of it. But is the work that bad that people quit after orientation?

Onekidneynurse · Nov 17, 2009

I am in the South DFW area. I do understand the politics of it. But is the work that bad that people quit after orientation?

The famous quote about HD is "They hire 3 and we're lucky if 1 stays".. It's a steep learning curve. Among other things.

Nurse-zine · Nov 17, 2009

Nurset2007....can't stress enough to do your research. Read the comments on here and elsewhere. Also keep in mind that not all you here is true, but the comments here are resounding. I would have never excepted the job if I read the comments here first. They have all come true for me.

Lacie, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2009

Nurset2007....can't stress enough to do your research. Read the comments on here and elsewhere. Also keep in mind that not all you here is true, but the comments here are resounding. I would have never excepted the job if I read the comments here first. They have all come true for me.

If I knew what I do know I would have never gone into chronic dialysis. Dont get me wrong I did love the type of work but didnt like the conveyor belt mentality of majority of clinics. I was told 3-12's a week and ended up working 4-6 days aweek 14-16hr days as it was almost impossible to retain RN's in the job. Most either turned out not cut out for it or hated it when they seen the truth of the field rather than what the interviewer take was on the job. I couldnt believe I was seeing people clock out and come back on the floor to finish up and it was encouraged!!! To do the LMS on my own computer at home so I wouldnt get paid because they didnt have time to let me do it at work since I was the only nurse 99.9% of the time in the building. Granted there are some decent clinics out there but if the FA fights too much for his/her staff and pts then they dont last as sooner or later it comes down to the bottom line and they must give in. Especially is it's a smaller clinic with under 20 chairs. I ended up leaving and going to another company and became drafted into the DON(FA) position and found it was the same old crap. The more I fought for staff the harder it became till eventually I decided my health and sanity was suffering. Never again!!! I miss dialysis but I dont miss the politics. What surprised me was how since leaving the field other non-dialysis employers dont have a clue of what a dialysis nurse does and dont consider it Nursing experience or bedside experience (so what they are in recliners instead of beds) although you do very similar monitoring, teaching, comorbity treatments, etc. Even with my extensive background in other areas of nursing, working in dialysis the last 3 years hurt me in trying to return to other nursing areas. I know other dialysis nurses on this site who have left and encountering the same issue. I was even told "you dont do venipuncture or use needles in dialysis" from a potential employer lol. Jeez!!! It's a love it or hate it job. And I worked harder in dialysis then any other job I have ever worked. Consider I have been in Critical care and Trauma for over 25 years and it's a breeze compared to the physical work of dialysis in my eyes. I wish I had never left the Critical Care/ER area now as it's too difficult to return to since working dialysis.

Mamakellyd · Nov 17, 2009

I've worked for DaVita for a long time- almost 14 years. I've worked as a facility manager and also now as a PRN staff nurse working in an acute dialysis unit. There is a lot that could be improved on, but having almost 21 years experience in dialysis I can tell you they are all pretty much the same. What you might gain at one employer you do without at another. But to find a job with DaVita your best thing is to go to www.davita.com. There you can apply online for multiple jobs that interest you. But I'm also with the post that replied that she was proactive and contacted the facility she wanted to be hired at directly. As a previous manager with the company I can tell you that I very much appreciated those who actively sought employment with me by making professional contact and follow-up. The applications are directed via the online app process to your area's recruiter, and they don't feel the urgency that the hiring manager does. So fill out the app online, then make note of the clinic name and look them up- also on davita.com.

GeauxNursing · Nov 17, 2009

Dialysis is tough. It's not for everyone. I think many nurses come into dialysis thinking you are basically sitting at a desk doing paperwork while the PCTs take care of everything. Easy, right?

Wrong. It's hard. You better have comfortable shoes and the ability to work your a$$ off for 10-14 hours a day straight. You must work well under pressure. You must deal with the politics of the hierarchy every day.

I have been having the roughest days lately, maybe for the past month or so. Every day is so hard! Pts are difficult, schedules get jacked up and pts stage a coup, the same staff complaining about the same things every single day, CVCs seemingly multiply in 2 weeks, (5 new ones!!) one of those a temporary!!! Who let him out the hospital with that?!! Difficulty with new access cannulation, doctors deciding to comPLETEly change their rounding schedule which screws up our lab days and nurse schedules and even pt schedules!

Anyways, just trying to illustrate how complex it is. It's strenuous. Turn arounds can be a battle. So as a new nurse I would imagine it terrifying to witness a typical day then be told "Okay, you're on your own tomorrow."

Or there isn't enough training, and they aren't ready. I've seen this more often than not. It's hard to get used to having a patient assignment. They drown for a few days then want to quit. Just stop showing up.

But not all the time! I just realized how negative my post is. Sorry, I'm having an acute burnout episode! : )

Nurse-zine · Nov 18, 2009

That's the most true thing I've ever heard about dialysis nursing.