Home Health Dialysis VS Acutre Apheresis... need advice

Published May 23, 2009

50 Posts

Hi!

After being laid-off twice since graduating last year, I finally got a job offer from Fresenius as an Acute Care Traveling Apheresis RN (I'll cover 74 hosp in a 75 mi radius). This job sounds awesome---lots of autonomy, not being stuck in one place for 8+ hours, 1:1 patient contact, cutting-edge technology in a highly specialized field (which will soon boom b/c of the Stem Cell stuff Obama passed, thus now is a good time to get into this field b4 it get flooded!), learning lots of procedures dealing with apheresis, seeing a myriad of health issues, and being exposed to many different pt populations. However, the traveling could get old, and I HATE hospitals and having to deal with docs. Plus, it involves a lot of follow up calls, both the night before and morning of. I'll be the "visitor"... on foreign turf. My manager warned me to not let the RNs on the unit boss me around and have me do things other than what my purpose for my visit is: apheresis, not the unit RN's duties. Oh, did I mention that this manager rocks?

However, I just got an offer for an interview for a Home Healthcare Therapeutic Dialysis RN for the same company! Home Health is my passion and I've been dying to get a job in home health. Same positives apply for this job, except that dialysis isn't as cutting-edge, and I won't get that "acute care exposure" that a newer grad so "desperately" needs. Plus, if something goes wrong, I'll be all alone... at least with apheresis, i'd have the help of the unit staff. Would i get bored with dialysis? But, I guess the same could go with apheresis.

Can anyone give me any insight on what each position encompasses, and which would provide me with the most clinical skills, knowledge base, experience, and challenges (but not too challenging, lol)? I want to make the right decision---I HAVE to. This has been a horrible year, job-wise, and I need to pick the wise career.

Thanks SO much!