Dialysis Dilemma?

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Hello all,

Seeking advice and information from everyone. I completed my in-person interview for a dialysis company, and a few interesting things were presented to me in the interview:

1. One of the interviewers indicated that sometimes a dialysis facility may close early due to the fact that a patient may not come in for treatment, if for example, they are hospitalized. Therefore I would not be compensated for the lost time, however some nurses are able to make the hours up with overtime.

2. This particular company requires new hires to sign a commitment contract for a specific amount of time, due to the financial investment of training a new hire on the company's part.

Has anyone in the dialysis field experienced either one of these things happening to them?

I have been an RN for 3 years, but I'm currently employed outside the healthcare field. I have found it very difficult to obtain a FT RN position without experience. This is one of the reasons I was attracted to the position, because of the amount of training being offered. However fluctuating hours and pay, and a commitment contract worries me a little.

Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated.

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I have worked as a hemodialysis nurse for almost 15 years and yes sometimes a patient doesn't show up and may shorten your day a little but I have found that it was super rare that I didn't get my 40 hours because there is always work to be done.

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Ok, thanks. I didn't know if it was s frequent or rare occurrence.

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I'm currently in a free standing dialysis clinic. There are some very non compliant pt who will routinely miss their tx and that can shorten your shift. Where I work, staff are sent home based on the required RN: pt ratio or Tech: pt ratio and it has shortened my weekly hours. However, I've been told that I can "get my hours in another clinic if I'm willing to travel." The problem with that is that I am already 25 minutes from my job and don't feel that it's right to have to travel further away just to reach the 40 hr. I was hired to work. This is one of the most frustrating parts of my job right now.

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I recently left a Freestanding clinic (in favor of a Dialysis RN position at a large hospital), and I've never experienced a loss of hours because a patient didn't show up.

The way my old clinic was scheduled, it was three "shifts" of patients, myself and a tech being responsible for six at a time. If one or two didn't show up on my last shift of patients, I just had a lower ratio.... if that ratio ever dropped to three patients or less, my tech would be sent home first.

Overall, most weeks I was actually working OT, never had a problem not hitting my 40 hours, if I did, I still hit 80 in a pay period (ie 35 one week, 45 the following).

Just be careful about the freestanding company you're working for... I've heard horror stories about some companies.

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I worked an average of 50 hours per week for all of 2016. Dialysis clinics in my area are notoriously short-staffed, so hours have never been a concern.

I signed a 2 year contract with an enlistment bonus. It's up in August. Most RNs at my clinic got a retention bonus.

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thank you all for the responses, they have been very helpful.

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