ICU to Dialysis advice please

Specialties Urology

Published

Hi

I'm new to the forum, I'm an ICU nurse of 12 years and have applied ( for a new challenge) for dialysis nursing in Vancouver. Is this a good move, am I moving from the frying pan into the fire?

Any advice would be appreciated

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Specializes in ICU, ER, Hemodialysis.

I went from Med/surg ICU to Dialysis, I LOVE it!!! That being said, it depends on your personality. What are you looking for? Why are you wanting to leave ICU? Is it just for a "new challenge"? Sometimes you just have to try it to see if you will like it. I wish you all the best with your decision.

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I'm bored. I'm in a quiet icu near home, constantly floating onto other wards as there's no patients ( when there are patients we have lots of doubling) and I came from a busy unit with haemofiltration which they don't do. Thought this might be the next best thing with full training for an advanced certificate with no nights.

will I miss the propofol:rolleyes:

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Specializes in Float Pool, Hemo Dialysis.

I loved ICU! I was in the float pool for about eight years and thought that I would slow things down alittle. Went to dialysis and hated it from the third day. I used the same skills, gave the same meds, saw the same patients, and worked with the same people day after day. If you like the "acuteness" of icu, don't do HD. I've returned the float pool, and loving everyday.

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Dialysis treatment as I call it is 'life-saving, life-sustaining' which can become 'life-threatening' in a matter of seconds. There often is a cookie-cutter training that most providers, especially the larger companies do........If you are an RN in a unit, it is imperative, in my opinion, that you learn as much as you can during your training/orientation program. There is alot of machine trouble shooting as well as medical problems that require intervention. I have seen, over and over, staff who are not trained which results in potential or actual negative outcomes... You must also realize before entering that many of these patients die quicker then others and that can be difficult, esp for a nurse that really cares about patients. You have to understand, and put yourself in their shoes and realize what they are going through.. it is most difficult for patients and even, at times, more difficult for staff to see patients having a rough time during dialysis and knowing that many will die sooner than others

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Specializes in Acute Medical, ICU.
I'm bored. I'm in a quiet icu near home, constantly floating onto other wards as there's no patients ( when there are patients we have lots of doubling) and I came from a busy unit with haemofiltration which they don't do. Thought this might be the next best thing with full training for an advanced certificate with no nights.

will I miss the propofol:rolleyes:

Good luck with the change, no nights sound great to me lol.

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Specializes in Dialysis.

Acute or chronic? Two different animals in my opinion.

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Chisca, could you elaborate on the job/feel differences between the two?

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Specializes in Dialysis.

If you are an ICU nurse and liked that pace you would probably find acute dialysis more enjoyable. There is tremendous pressure in dialysis to reduce the time between treatments and it is worse in the chronic setting. I call it a "factory" mentality that reduces everything to an assembly line process. I mainly do dialysis treatments on patients that are in an ICU setting with a 1:1 nurse/patient ratio. In a clinic you will be working with techs who have taken a 3 month training program. You may be responsible for 6 to 9 patients. The quality of the techs will determine whether or not you suceed in the clinic setting as you will be doing much of the charting while they will be handling setting up the machines, accessing the fistulas/grafts, and monitoring the vitals. Working in ICU before I trained to be a dialysis nurse made me reluctant to delegate although there are very good techs out there. I like working with patients who are very sick, who have complex medical conditions, and that's the appeal of acute dialysis.

Downside of acute setting? Long, unpredictable hours. 16+ hour shifts are not uncommon. So is taking call. In the clinic you have regular hours and no call. I have never worked in a clinic but nearly every nurse I work with has so I may be getting their biases influencing my opinion. But after I heard one nurse describe how the clinic she worked in rationed the number of 4x4's used to stop the bleeding I knew I could never work in that environment. If you choose to work in a clinic make sure you ask what the nurse patient ratio is, how many techs they have and what their experience level is. Hope this helps.

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I went from ICU to acute dialysis about six months ago and love it. I was tired of the 13 hour days with the same patients and dealing with a million different docs and families. Of course there are still bad patients and bad treatments and bad catheters but a treatment never lasts all day. I say go for it!

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Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.

I just transferred from Peds ICU to Peds Dialysis in our facility. We do acute and chronic pts.

So far, I am really enjoying the change of pace and some predictability in my day. I was burning out fast and got out just before I went up in flames.

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