Dialysis Start Time

tconnell · Mar 31, 2014

I feel the same way. I have been a chronic dialysis nurse for over 10 years. I despise the hours. That is really the only thing I do not like about my job. We work 3, 14 hour days. I start at 4:30 and don't leave until 6 or 6:30. Its nice to have days off but I'm too pooped to do anything and I have younger children as well. I usually will go to bed around 8:30 the night before I have to work so I can get up around 3 am. I never understood why we couldn't break it into shifts, but unfortuneatly they won't. So I would like to say it gets easier...it hasn't for me though.

westieluv · Mar 31, 2014

In our clinic we don't have to be there until 5:30, and the patients start rolling in at 5:45. I get up at 3:15 on the days that I work. I usually go to bed around 9:00. I don't get eight hours of sleep, but I usually have every other day off, so I just catch up on my sleep the next day.

Personally, I love chronic dialysis hours! I don't mind getting up early because I am walking out of the clinic at least by 5 pm, sometimes earlier, and I still get an entire evening with my family. We only have two shifts on TTS so our last patient comes off at around 4:15 pm. On MWF we have a third shift, but we also have a third shift nurse so I never have to work past 5 pm on those days either. Compare that to most 12 hour nursing jobs where you may get to start a little later but you aren't getting home until 8 pm.

SandyNommensen · Apr 23, 2014

I have been doing ICHD now for about 8 years. I love it so much I am now the manager. Yes, you will get use to the at work by 4:30 am and going to bed when your kids do. It is hard but on your off days, take a nap. I no longer need to be at the clinic by 4:30 except for the days I work the floor. Don't get in the habit of going in extra early, it will only get yourself in trouble. You will have time to get all of your work done during the day if you are good at time management. I still have the problem of waking up early when I don't need to be there early. To sleep in would be a dream. I am up by 5:30 on days I don't work. Yes, I love my coffee.

PrettyLady87 · Apr 29, 2014

I graduated August 2013, and started my first job in dialysis in December 2013 (I truly regret this decision, but bills were priority at the time). Anyway, I am scheduled to work T,Th,S from 5am-9:45pm and I still hate it. I can never go to bed early enough the night before because my mind is always racing about what the next work day will bring. Taking naps on my days off has gotten me into more trouble, and I've been late a few times bc I can't seem to peel myself out of bed no earlier than 4am Travel time is about 15-20 min, so not too terrible. I am single, no kids, and I live at home with my mom. There are probably other factors that play into my restless nights, but I'm still trying to figure it all out.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2014

I graduated August 2013, and started my first job in dialysis in December 2013 (I truly regret this decision, but bills were priority at the time). Anyway, I am scheduled to work T,Th,S from 5am-9:45pm and I still hate it. I can never go to bed early enough the night before because my mind is always racing about what the next work day will bring. Taking naps on my days off has gotten me into more trouble, and I've been late a few times bc I can't seem to peel myself out of bed no earlier than 4am Travel time is about 15-20 min, so not too terrible. I am single, no kids, and I live at home with my mom. There are probably other factors that play into my restless nights, but I'm still trying to figure it all out.

Could you find a new clinic that does 4 10's? or 3 12's? That seems like a lot of work. 3 16.75 hour days is 50 hours a week! I know Fresenius and Davita are cutting back on all overtime if possible. If you hate dialysis, that's another story. But give it time. It is well known that it takes at least a year as a new grad to really feel comfortable at your job. It sounds like the hours are getting you down, which anyone can understand! But those hours are not really common in the dialysis industry. Most clinics that I know that run 3 shifts, still utilize their nurses in 12's, such as 5am-5pm, 8am-8pm, 10am-10pm. Do they really make you work 16 hour days?! I do that as an acute dialysis nurse, but it's once in a while. I think we're all different, I started in the outpatient clinic as a new grad and loved it! I too struggled to get up at 4:30am 4 days a week, but 4 years later, I have just changed my lifestyle and gotten used to it. I think if I had started in a telemetry unit, I would have hated that at first, but once you get good at something and comfortable with your job, it does get better!!

PrettyLady87 · Apr 29, 2014

Could you find a new clinic that does 4 10's? or 3 12's? That seems like a lot of work. 3 16.75 hour days is 50 hours a week! I know Fresenius and Davita are cutting back on all overtime if possible. If you hate dialysis, that's another story. But give it time. It is well known that it takes at least a year as a new grad to really feel comfortable at your job. It sounds like the hours are getting you down, which anyone can understand! But those hours are not really common in the dialysis industry. Most clinics that I know that run 3 shifts, still utilize their nurses in 12's, such as 5am-5pm, 8am-8pm, 10am-10pm. Do they really make you work 16 hour days?! I do that as an acute dialysis nurse, but it's once in a while. I think we're all different, I started in the outpatient clinic as a new grad and loved it! I too struggled to get up at 4:30am 4 days a week, but 4 years later, I have just changed my lifestyle and gotten used to it. I think if I had started in a telemetry unit, I would have hated that at first, but once you get good at something and comfortable with your job, it does get better!!

I work for a small private company (we only have 4 centers in NYC), so they aren't crazy about the overtime, but my NM covers A LOT of stuff...A LOT of stuff Whether or not I get paid the overtime is out of my control, but most of the time when I stay late is because I am charting, fixing some notes, counting the Epogen, putting in any verbal lab orders, or just trying to get to know my pts a little more. I am so distracted with interpersonal staff nonsense bc my techs don't respect me and I get attitude ALL day long 75% of the time, that I've been slacking with the most important stuff (nursing)... The list goes on with the amount of BS in this particular center, but I'm trying to study dialysis and stuff into detail so that I can make them respect me.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2014

Pretty Lady, I had similar experiences to you starting as a new grad. All the techs had tons of experience and treated me like an outsider. Not only were they disrespectful and condescending due to my age, I actually once got verbally threatened to get beat up after work. I did not deserve it, trust me. I minded my own business, did my job, and in time they came around. Don't let these techs or evil nurse manager bring you down. This is your learning opportunity. You can make lots of excuses, or just take it for what it is and run with it. After I had been a dialysis nurse 6 months, I started applying to hospitals as an acute dialysis nurse. I ended up and found a PRN job at a magnet hospital doing dialysis one day a week. That is the only ticket you need to get into a hospital. Now I work only in hospitals, but ironically, I decided I wanted to stay in dialysis!

Don't let anyone tell you you're not a real nurse. You are an R. N. -- Real Nurse. Would you say these things about a hospice nurse or a cardiac cath lab nurse? You are a procedure-based specialized nurse. A good skill to have. In time, you can make more money then many of your hospital counterparts. There are hundreds of thousands of nurses, we can't ALL work in med surg, telemetry, ICU, or ER and yet we are all still "REAL" nurses. Look at this job as a growing opportunity. Welcome to nursing, where every day is a new challenge, whether with patients, coworkers, families, or administration. It is tough to learn, but as a new grad, the healthcare industry is shockingly more difficult then we imagined. This is a time for you to grow as a person, and become stronger, not letting these other negative people bring you down. Once you confidence builds up a little more, you will begin to not worry so much about these other coworkers.

One other thing I learned in my horribly, disfunctional outpatient clinic is that if you separate yourself as a nurse and refuse to do "tech" duties, you will never gain their respect. I started wiping off chairs, stocking saline, and retreiving patients from the lobby. I helped them, and slowly, they began to help me. I was a server for 7 years, but outpatient dialysis was the hardest I ever worked. Do yourself a favor and learn to love the job you have, because I can tell you, it is a tough industry right now in healthcare, and the grass isn't always greener.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2014

Pretty Lady, I feel like I once felt like you, so I want you to stay encouraged. I can relate to your feelings and I too was almost in shock and depressed at what my first few months showed me. Did you know that after 1 year working in dialysis, you could be an outpatient dialysis traveling nurse almost anywhere in the country? After 1 year doing that job, a hospital acute dialysis program will hire you. You will be doing treatments in the ICU and taking care of telemetry patients. You could easily make friends with ICU nurses, floor nurses, and eventually get referrals to those units if you want out. In the mean time though, you may find that you have actually landed into a great opportunity. You will always be able to fall back on your dialysis skills, once your achieve them. If you're ever in a job crisis, a dialysis clinic will always hire someone with experience.

I became certified in my specialty after 2 years, after 2.5 years, I starting taking travel assignments. I have now worked in 6 states, and over 30 different hospitals, even some large university hospitals and level 1 trauma teaching facilities. But I have also seen the small communities and long term care hospitals. One hospital I worked at specialized in liver and kidney transplants, so I saw a lot of liver patients. I have learned so much. This is not a dead end for you neccessarily! I have seen so much, I can't even begin to tell you my experiences in my 4 short years. I am so excited now to be working for a great private practice and will be learning plasmapheresis. I am also happy to say that I am very well compensated.

tom7044 · Apr 29, 2014

Wonderful response; this is the type of nurse I would want as a mentorl

PrettyLady87 · May 5, 2014

I have been helping these techs as much as I can, I just need to time manage my nursing on top of their duties, because taking off pts, or cleaning and priming the machines have taken away time for documenting and closing charts, even lunchtime/break-times. I have gotten job offers to work elsewhere, but I am not confident in myself enough to work anywhere else, (let alone acute! yikes!). I still need to get ACLS certified, amongst some other attractive certifications to have under my belt. Thanks for the advice though, I feel more hopeful, still unhappy, but now I can develop a new strategy to keep me going in this ****** facility until I get into a hospital.

PrettyLady87 · May 5, 2014

Pretty Lady, I feel like I once felt like you, so I want you to stay encouraged. I can relate to your feelings and I too was almost in shock and depressed at what my first few months showed me. Did you know that after 1 year working in dialysis, you could be an outpatient dialysis traveling nurse almost anywhere in the country? After 1 year doing that job, a hospital acute dialysis program will hire you. You will be doing treatments in the ICU and taking care of telemetry patients. You could easily make friends with ICU nurses, floor nurses, and eventually get referrals to those units if you want out. In the mean time though, you may find that you have actually landed into a great opportunity. You will always be able to fall back on your dialysis skills, once your achieve them. If you're ever in a job crisis, a dialysis clinic will always hire someone with experience.
I became certified in my specialty after 2 years, after 2.5 years, I starting taking travel assignments. I have now worked in 6 states, and over 30 different hospitals, even some large university hospitals and level 1 trauma teaching facilities. But I have also seen the small communities and long term care hospitals. One hospital I worked at specialized in liver and kidney transplants, so I saw a lot of liver patients. I have learned so much. This is not a dead end for you neccessarily! I have seen so much, I can't even begin to tell you my experiences in my 4 short years. I am so excited now to be working for a great private practice and will be learning plasmapheresis. I am also happy to say that I am very well compensated.

You should write a professional article or a book or something in defense of dialysis nursing or specialty nursing in general. I find it terrible with all of these stereotypes and stigmas associated. Maybe the same thing that happened to you will happen to me...maybe in a different environment with more experience under my belt I will feel loads better, and feel deserving of higher pay.