MKE247

Dear vidrine rn Please do not take this the wrong way, but have you considered working in another area? The dialysis unit is not a convenient way for RNs to avoid weekends and 3rd shifts. I am wait listed for the RN program and doing a 1 year diploma in renal dialysis, as a tech. We are in our first 8 weeks of clinical and while we still have a lot to learn, things are going well. Dialysis training, whether done in 2 semester or 6 weeks on the job can seem overwhelming. However it can be accomplished. The expectation of my instructor as well as your unit manager will not be that you will walk out of the training knowing everything right way. You probably experienced the same a a graduate nurse, knowing that you brought with you certain skills from school, with the expectation that you would still learn a lot in your unit or department on the floor. You seem to keep focusing on your own fears or inabilities, and that worries me. Personally I don't like being under the care of nervous health care professionals. ( the nurse in my MD's office usually take about 5 tries before getting my bp reading, which is normal and strong) If you keep focusing on what you don't know and if you go into training as nervous as it seem you are online, you will not do well in dialysis. As a tech or RN/LPN, you will spend a lot of time with you patients. ( 3-4 hours, 3 times a week.) Most patients are familiar with their own treatments and they know right away if the tech or RN running the treatment is properly trained and CONFIDENT. They will call you out on your mistakes : ), well some will. You have to be confident for the Techs that work under your supervision. You will need to learn a lot from them, as they know the machines and treatments well. What they need from you is your strong ability to lead and supervise. Again, the dialysis unit is not a convenient way for RNs to avoid weekends and 3rd shifts. Perhaps you might like working in a MD's office or walk-in clinic. Its really something to think about. MKE247, Milwaukee, WI

Hi, This is my very first post I am currently in my first semester of Renal Dialysis Tech training. Although we have yet to start the clinical portion of the program our instructor (Dialysis RN) has made it quite clear that we Will be listening and feeling the access site in our clinical training. In the state of Wisconsin, RDTs can do dress changes, give the Heparin and also place and remove the blood lines. I am very exicted about this opportunity as I can gain good experience before starting my LPN or RN clinicals. (which ever comes first, the wait lists for nursing are quite long) Unless I'm missing something, we learned in Certified Nursing Assistant training that the nursing staff, licensed or unlicensed should only sign off on tasks that they performed ?????????????????????? I still have a long ways to goin my studies, and I sure that I will have questions along the way. Im learning a lot here, and I really like this site. MKE247