Help...Need to choose between Dialysis or Long term care....

Fiona59 · Jan 11, 2009

That's for a full time job? I make that working part time.

OT is available in dialysis. The centres I know of run from 07-23 M-Sat. The happiest dialysis nurses I know work 8 hour shifts and pick up OT a couple of times a week.

You have to realize that on an 8 hour shift, you will have patients on at 07, they come off between 10:30 and 11:30. The next runs start around noon. Your shift is over at 15, so getting them off belongs to the evening nurse. If you do 12 hour shifts, you get three lots of patients started and finished. Much harder on you.

The 10 weeks of orientation should include classroom time on the renal system and the body chemistry, followed by time spent learning the in and outs of your machines. Cleaning, stringing, setting up, how to push meds on return. Time on the solutions to be used.

If you don't have strong wrists, dialysis won't work for you. The most common work related condition there is carpal tunnel syndrome from banging the air out of the dialyzer.

Are you looking at dialysis in active treatment or in a chronic care satellite centre?

LTC sucks the souls out of most PNs. We all go in with the best of intentions. The very special few can make a career out of LTC.

Good luck in your decision.

Faith25 · Jan 11, 2009

I don't really now what active treament means but I was told it is a busy outpatient dialysis center. It is a full time job and I will work 4, 10 hour shifts from 2:30-12:30, no sundays, every other Sat. and no holidays. The services at the clinic include; Chronic Renal Dialysis, Home Dialysis Training, Nursing, Nutritional, Social Work Service. Don't really know about much i'm getting into but, willing to learn.

Fiona59 · Jan 12, 2009

Active treatment can also refer to acute care. Those are "in" patients in a hospital.

mume2mykidz · Jan 12, 2009

how did you get into Dialysis because around here they don't hire LPN's

Fiona59 · Jan 12, 2009

The health authority that employs me employs LPNs to full scope of practice pretty much on every unit except NICU. In the last five years, the province and provincial college of LPNs have worked to expand our skills and to encourage full utilization due to the nursing shortage and the expenses occured in health care.

Basically we wait for a position and then apply. Same education classes as an RN, we attend at the same time, the only difference is one drug, the RN pushes on return, we administer subq.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2009

I have extensive experience in both LTC and dialysis. Both are very busy and hectic. You will use your nursing skills in both settings, but in a different way- and some different sets of skills.

Almost any nurse can be a dialysis or LTC nurse, but few can be really good dialysis or LTC nurses.

As an LPN in LTC, you will probably be pretty much on your own with your own hall(s).

You would probably have less responsibility and fewer leadership opportunities in dialysis, as there will be an RN on the floor with you.

Each choice can be good or bad- for me, it all depends on mgmt and your co-workers- if they are good, the job will be good. If they aren't, it won't.

As an LPN, you would probably spend most of your time passing meds in either job.

I am working three 12-14 hr shifts a week in dialysis.

Faith25 · Jan 13, 2009

I'm in NY, and there was a posting and I applied and I got it. I know there are alyways openings in LTC but when I did my clinical rotations in LTC I felt like this was not a place where I wanted to be. It felt dreadful! And very sad!The nurses just kept there heads in the MAR and then picked there head up to get ready to give meds. I thought to myself not for me.

I was told by the nurse manager of the dialysis unit that the LPN will be trained to do IV push especially with Heparin.