Davita working environment?

GeauxNursing · Sep 12, 2009

Doesn't matter what company you work for, each clinic is different. There is no good answer to this question. Davita is for-profit. They care about the money. The company is okay to it's employees. We used to get HUGE bonuses, now they are smaller. Benefits are okay I suppose. No 401K matching, but there is flex spending for health-care stuff, the vision insurance sucks, the dental doesn't cover my dentist, and you HAVE to use mail-away pharmacy with Cigna, so you're paying up front for 3 month supplies of your meds.

Lacie, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2009

Any work enviroment comes down to the immediate administration and co-workers within that facility. I left the davita clinics I worked at because the PCT's ran the clinic and the RN was just a body there to open the doors. This is not saying every clinic is this way. When it comes to pay it doesnt matter your previous experience unless it was directly related to dialysis. I had over 20 years Critical care experience and started out pretty much as a new RN when it I went into dialysis. So dont count on your previous non-dialysis experience carrying alot of wieght. It's an entire different world then bedside nursing. For me I hated chronics. I didnt like being the only RN in the building most the time with no breaks and working 16hr days. I didnt like the conveyor belt mentality and not being able to do the appropriate pt teaching dialysis requires or depending on a non licensed person making thier own decisions how to treat hypotension, etc without informing me as the charge nurse 99% of the time. There were times I didnt want particular pts bombarded with saline or taken off the machine unnecessarily. I ran harder in chronics then I ever did working in ER, Trauma or Open hearts!!! Just wasnt worth it to me at the end of the day.

NavyNurse92 · Sep 12, 2009

Wow--thanks for the insights.

Anyone else have any comments about Davita??

corky1272RN · Sep 20, 2009

I would do a search for davita on this site because there really is no change, no matter how old the posts are it still seems that they are right on the money. In fact I think there are two other posts that you can look at that are current.

DeLana_RN, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2009

Any work enviroment comes down to the immediate administration and co-workers within that facility. I left the davita clinics I worked at because the PCT's ran the clinic and the RN was just a body there to open the doors. This is not saying every clinic is this way. When it comes to pay it doesnt matter your previous experience unless it was directly related to dialysis. I had over 20 years Critical care experience and started out pretty much as a new RN when it I went into dialysis. So dont count on your previous non-dialysis experience carrying alot of wieght. It's an entire different world then bedside nursing. For me I hated chronics. I didnt like being the only RN in the building most the time with no breaks and working 16hr days. I didnt like the conveyor belt mentality and not being able to do the appropriate pt teaching dialysis requires or depending on a non licensed person making thier own decisions how to treat hypotension, etc without informing me as the charge nurse 99% of the time. There were times I didnt want particular pts bombarded with saline or taken off the machine unnecessarily. I ran harder in chronics then I ever did working in ER, Trauma or Open hearts!!! Just wasnt worth it to me at the end of the day.

:yeahthat:

There's not much I can add, except perhaps for some unethical and/or illegal stuff going on (such as UAPs giving heparin and other meds in states where they are not allowed to and nurses letting them so they won't be bothered to do it for them) and some very unprofessional behavior.

Some managers really tried to change this culture - I had one who finally gave up - but many simply go along with it

No more dialysis for me (after 7 years) for this reason.

DeLana

P.S. It may not just be DaVita where this kind of stuff is going on, but it's the only company I'm familiar with.

Jazzfit · Sep 28, 2009

hello navynurse I hope im not too late. I currently work for Davita. I worked for them last december until around March. i walked off this job because at the time I was working more than 16 hour days and was working with very little staff and managment seemed to think nothing of it. Davita to me is like a cult. Its all about Davita they want you to think eat and sleep Davita anything else just simply doesnt matter to them. I quit and went back after i graduate RN because my best friend was assistant facility administrator and promised me it would be different. So I went back the pay was ok for the state of Arkansas 24.50 but to me it wasnt enough I am a new nurse but a veteran to dialysis. I found myself doing all the work charge nurse and PCT because the PCT's were either off the floor doing whatever they wanted or out of the building for whatever reason. again management saw nothing wrong with this. I transferred to houston texas with davita the transfer was horrible the davita recruiter did practically nothing to help me and I took a pay cut. can you believe it a pay cut from Little Rock AR to Houston Texas. the two FA's went back and forth abouthowmuch money I was makingat my Arkansas clinic. My home FA lied and told the houston FA that she was paying me less money then what she actually was. Then on top of that after I took the job she went into the system and put me in as terminated. I know this because after a week of clocking just fine here in HOuston all of a sudden I couldnt clock in anymore. The FA finds out why. Her excuse was that she wasnt sure if I had taken the job with Noth Houston Dialysis. My thoughts were regardless if i took employment in houston or not thats no reason for her to put me in as terminated i gave her a two weeks notice before i LEFT HER CLINIC. Shady huh? bottom line is Davita is a cult that has COMMANDMENTS you'll see them on the walls if you decide to take the job. Everything is done "THE DAVITA WAY" you'll here this more than you wish too. You'll be overworked underpayed, stressed out and unhappy until you decide you've had enough. Then instead of fair play they'll try and fix it where you cant work for davita again simply because you decided to make a decision to leave Davita for better opportunities. Bad co. with even worse managment. But hey I'm just one person with my experience. I plan to travel this way there is no salary issues and i get to see the world. Good Luck

NavyNurse92 · Sep 28, 2009

Dialysis Guru--Wow..thanks so much. I actually called the recruiter and told her I decided not to persue the dialysis postion any longer after reading so many bad things on this site. Your email confirms that I made the right decision. My mother was actually a Davita pt. in Leesburg, FL. She said there never seemed to be anyone to help when a patient went bad. This is a great site to find out "insider information!" Again--THANK YOU!!

Jazzfit · Sep 28, 2009

glad I could help.

DialysisTech76 · Oct 5, 2009

I work for Davita now as a PCT and I worked for them years ago. I have never really had any major problems. We were always staffed good. If someone calls in we all have to work harder that day but that happens everywhere. I work with wonderful nurses and techs. Some days are better than others but all the staff works hard to help out. We always have more than one nurse on the floor (unless one calls in and we can't find another). Nurses respect PCT's and PCT's respect nurses. Never had any problems with supplies or cut backs. I get paid what I was promised when I was hired with increases. Medical insurance with DaVita is good (I've had worse). Training taught me what I needed to know. All and all I am happy with DaVita. I'm sure if I had problems like others have had I wouldn't feel the same way. I am blessed to have such a great job.

NurseKandi · Oct 20, 2009

NavyNurse,

I sincerely apologize for all the bad comments you have read about Davita. I have been with Davita for two years and find it to be a wonderful company. I have transferred from chronics to acutes and find that I love it even more. In my chronic unit, I found that it isnt the company, it is the FA themselves that is the problem. Don't forget that management has the authority to change whatever the problems are and if they make their bosses happy, then bottom line is that they have done their job. Unfortunately, it has come down to about a dollar and they have cut out optimal things like "tip-stops" but besides that, I feel that it is a solid company. Many people think that they can go into dialysis chronic and just take it slow. It is by far not even close to that. I have calculated my steps when I worked at the chronic units and some days it was over 18,000 steps. I worked any where from 12-16 hours days. Dialysis is either something you love or hate. You have to find a FA that is good to the staff and patients. The acute setting I am now, I couldnt have asked for better. I feel like a nurse again because I deal with acute dialysis pateints. Post cardiac caths, surgery, open hearts, you name it, we dialyze them after. It makes me appreciate nursing again.

It isnt the company that is the problem, it is the people that are running the particular clinic the people are complaining about. And to be honest, there are days when you are the only nurse and taking care of 19 patients on two or three shifts is a lot but if you have a solid team of PCTs and LPNs that work with you, your job is not at all hard. I have been honored to always have wonderful PCTs and LPNs work with me. You may want to go visit a chronic center and shadow a RN to see what dialysis is all about and what is done on the floor and you may want to reevaluate your thoughts. I would recommend checking into an acute dialysis program as if you have any hospital experience, then they will train you in dialysis and you get on call pay, mileage, shift diff, overtime...the perks are endless. I have made more money in 4 weeks in acutes then I ever made in chronic. Just a thought. :yeah: :twocents:

Jazzfit · Oct 20, 2009

I would love to see how much Davita would be willing to train you. If you dont have the dialysis experience its just like having no experience at all. You may be favored and paid well but I've been in dialysis for 13+ years and they will hardly take the 17 years experience as a nurse into consideration. I work with a nurse now who has 14 years experience as a nurse and she's paid $26.00 per hour. she has only one year of dialysis experience. Davita trained her and she has been with them for a year now. In the city of Houston new graduates make are paid 25.00 to 26.00 per hour fresh out of school. Good luck I hope you get what you are looking for and I hope your experience with Davita if you accept a position is a great one!!!!!