Nephrology Nursing in Canada

Published

Hello everyone, 

To start off, I’ll provide a background about myself. I am a first year nursing student at a university in Ontario, Canada. I live in Scarborough, a part of Toronto, Canada. I have done a co-op placement at Scarborough Health Network (SHN) during high school, and I’m aware of a floor that they have now turned into a nephrology unit, in one of the hospital sites. SHN is said to be having the largest nephrology program. I like this hospital, and I really want to work there in the future, as a dialysis nurse. However, I’m unsure on how to become a dialysis nurse (or what steps need to be done to reach there). I tried searching on Google, and I can’t find info on it. I am aware of nephrology programs that are conducted by Humber or Durham colleges, but their website only has a requirement, and that is to have a CNO license, I believe. Does that mean, after I graduate from the nursing program, I can straight up, join the nephrology program and become a nephrology nurse, or will I require some sort of experience at a unit first, and then take the course to become a nephrology nurse? Please help.

If anyone here is working on this unit, can you please help on how your day goes? What will be the responsibilities? 

 

Thanks.

Kevin

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Moved to Canada forum for best responses. 

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi

After getting your license, get some experience in med/surg and take nephro 1 and 2 courses from humber college, part of nephrology certificate, then apply from the website. Better chance if you know someone from the unit.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I recently completed placement on the Neohrology unit at SHN and loved it. I’m considering taking the neohrology course since it’s one of the requirements for hire to the unit. Best bet would be to keep applying to lots of positions within the hospital and get in and maybe try to apply internally when a position on the unit comes up. 
hope this helps ?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Best to get in touch with the manger for the dialysis unit and ask what the hiring requirement is for the unit. I work at Michael Garron, I know my hospital will take someone with overall acute bedside background, with the condition that you will finish the nephrology certificate within 3month or 6month of hire. That said, since you are in nursing program, your ticket to the dialysis unit fresh out of school would be if you were to do your final consolidation placement in the dialysis unit. You may get hired by the unit afterwards. Otherwise you would inevitably need the nephrology certificate to apply to other hospitals. 

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank You EVERYONE for these wonderful comments. I'll try replying everyone's comment in one post now. Thank you so much for taking your time to help me. This is very much appreciated and means a lot to me :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
On 1/4/2021 at 12:25 AM, enzohu said:

Best to get in touch with the manger for the dialysis unit and ask what the hiring requirement is for the unit. I work at Michael Garron, I know my hospital will take someone with overall acute bedside background, with the condition that you will finish the nephrology certificate within 3month or 6month of hire. That said, since you are in nursing program, your ticket to the dialysis unit fresh out of school would be if you were to do your final consolidation placement in the dialysis unit. You may get hired by the unit afterwards. Otherwise you would inevitably need the nephrology certificate to apply to other hospitals. 

 

 

On 12/26/2020 at 10:47 PM, mightymini said:

Hi

After getting your license, get some experience in med/surg and take nephro 1 and 2 courses from humber college, part of nephrology certificate, then apply from the website. Better chance if you know someone from the unit.

 

On 1/2/2021 at 8:57 PM, Nurseinthe6ix said:

I recently completed placement on the Nephrology unit at SHN and loved it. I’m considering taking the neohrology course since it’s one of the requirements for hire to the unit. Best bet would be to keep applying to lots of positions within the hospital and get in and maybe try to apply internally when a position on the unit comes up. 
hope this helps ?

Hello Everyone, Thank you so much for these comments once again. Looking at the comments, what I understand is: I first have to get a job shadowing done by a nurse in dialysis, as I move onto to my last year of university, I will have to try and get a placement in the dialysis unit, if not, atleast med surg. Do a placement there, get some experience in med surg (if I don't get into dialysis unit placement), then work on getting a nephrology certificate simultaneously, and apply to become a dialysis nurse (also getting in touch with the dialysis unit manager as well). I think that's how this pathway leads. I'm happy now, atleast I sort of have a pathway leading, and can plan on how to achieve it. Without this pathway, I was super clueless. If there's anything else to be mentioned in this steps above, please let me know, I really appreciate for everyone's time :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion