jmtm17

First nursing job is outpatient dialysis nurse. I started two months ago. No previous RN experience. In my opinion, it really depends on what your long term career goal is. I say this, but even I am not so sure about my plans yet LOL It’s tough at first since you would have to learn both roles: as a PCT/tech and as a nurse. The reason why they train you as a tech first is so you can jump in and help when they're short staffed and obviously know how to troubleshoot the machine as well. Yes you can depend on your techs but what if they’re also busy with their patients. Each tech has 3 to 4 patient per 4hr period or per shifts. So one RN oversee 3 techs assigned to him/her plus all of their patients. I have observed that not all nurses help out their techs when they’re drowning with patient load or when they're behind schedule. Most of the time, patients either come in too early or later than what they’re scheduled for which affects the whole flow of your shift. Generally speaking, techs have been working there for a long time so they know pretty much everything except for giving out IVP medications and RN charting. You can depend on them, but it’s even a better feat if they can also depend on you. Going back to your question, once you get the hang of it... You’ll love dialysis if you like working with same group of people and patients. It’s very very very repetitive. Some would say that it is a basic skill/specialty and I respect their opinion. It isn’t the same as bedside nursing. One thing I don’t like about it is the long hours of schedule. I start 5am and sometimes leave at 6pm when one of my patients arrived late. And I would have to wait until their treatment is done so I could finish charting. If you ever decide to work in dialysis, I’d say maximize your skills by helping out your techs with cannulation, you can use this skill if you plan to transfer to bedside or ER someday! You’ll also be able to train yourself to think fast when one of your patient’s vitals is unstable. Or if they're having an anxiety. Or their needle went out by accident. Lots and lots of patient interaction and you work directly with their NPS, MD, Social Worker, and Dietitian. I am not familiar with acute settings. But I heard their pay is higher, schedule is awful since you’re on call most of the time and you handle different patients. Some say, you’re on your own in acutes, you don’t have any techs helping you out. So you do everything starting from machine setup, cannulation, up to ending their treatment. That’s why most people that I know who transitioned to acutes have had plenty of experience in outpatient dialysis. One good thing that I like about it is you get to do networking with the people you work with in the hospital. If it’s something that you would need for your future unit goal or career. I honestly don’t see myself working in bedside. I am aware that working there would open up more opportunities but it all just depends what our career goal is☺️

Hi, I’m new to Dialysis as an RN. This is my first RN job. And I’m on my 2nd day of training with a tech/PCT preceptor before training with an RN. I’m having a hard time with priming, navigating the machine and setup. Plus I work at Davita so they use chairside snappy which makes it even more tough to grasp everything at once. (Since I’m new) Everyone’s been so nice and informative. But since the work environment is fast paced, I’m always confuse as to which clamps should be open or closed when I set up my supplies before priming. I feel overwhelmed with everything. My preceptor is great but I feel like the training is out place as they try to cover everything all at the same time (Which I totally understand, since they also have to do their job as they train me). I was looking for videos on Youtube, but not everyone uses the same machine and they all developed different techniques. But I’m proud to say that I’m able to recirculate, and remove the setup when Dialysis is finished on my own? Am I behind on my training? It seems like they expect me to master the setup and priming by now. I’ve heard from long time employees that training could be cut shorter to save time and budget LOL. My training is supposed to be 8 to 10 weeks. My FA plans to have me trained with a PCT for 2 wks then 2wks with an RN then I feel like they’ll let me work on the floor on my own after that. Is this normal? Is this how you were trained before? Help. ?

I just got an offer to work as a Dialysis nurse in Davita. I did my research and I’m aware of the negative reviews about the company but I applied anyway since I would prefer to start my career in dialysis than in a facility (since I can always apply there anytime if I realize dialysis isn’t for me). I couldn’t apply to most hospital positions since they’re looking for a minimum one to two yrs of acutes experience and I have yet to hear back from those residency programs I applied for. I also just sent in my two weeks notice. I’ve been working with them for over 3years as CNA/Home health aide. However, my employer called in to give me some advice about the company because he’s genuinely worried and he thought there might be better opportunities out there for me. He was kind enough to offer to reach out to some of his connections (in hospitals here in San Diego) to get myself an opportunity to work in a hospital. It’s a long shot but honestly, this just made me unsure about everything? If you’re working in dialysis as an RN now, or have previously worked in the same company mentioned above, could you share some your experiences and how do you like it so far? Pros and cons?

Hi! Did you use CGFNS to send you transcripts to CA?

Thank you, and I appreciate your prompt response! I'm glad everything worked out for you!! May I know what your previous job was before being an RN? Did you apply directly to the hospital or an agency? I really hope I can get into one of those residency programs. I already have a Hawaii State RN license, but I haven't been able to practice since I have zero RN experience. I'm trying to look for states who accept New Grads and will try to endorse my license there.

Hi! May I know how you were able to get into a nurse residency program? I'm a foreign graduate, and I'm not familiar with how it works. I was told that you could only get into those programs if you graduated within after a year of finishing your BSN.

That’s awesome! Taking additional class is the only reason I haven’t endorsed my Hawaii RN license to CA. I heard it’s soooooo hard to find CA BON approved schools with availability because of the wait list. That’s why others would even look for one out of state. May I know what year you and friends graduated?