These are all great answers. I have something to add. I was a dialysis tech for 2 years in the chronic clinical setting, and as a nurse there, you are not very hands on. The techs do the prep, bicarb/acid prep, sticking, machine set up, running, monitoring, discontinuation, and tear down. The nurses are documenting almost ALL day and doing follow-ups. They are in meetings, answering phones, doing care plans, and administering meds/doing foot checks when they are interacting with patients. The tech will usually be the one to calculate the amount that will be pulled, but the RN will make sure that they are doing enough/pulling less if the patient is around their dry weight. The nurse will also be closely monitoring the dry weights (where homeostasis occurs) frequently to see if they need it adjusted. The chronic setting, as said before, is MUCH different for RNs than the acute setting. Acute settings, you will be working with inpatients and patients just starting on a CVC. I learned SO much as a tech when I was one, and it has helped me tremendously in school, skill and knowledge wise. I never thought I would say this, but I am looking into an acute dialysis position as my first position out of school. Such an amazing field. PLEASE treat your techs well if they are doing their jobs correctly. You will need each other, and trust between people makes things work out just so much more nicely for everyone, including the patients.
