Pysch nurse to dialysis

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Hello all!

I am currently working as a pysch/ detox nurse in Florida but my fiancé just got a promotion to Georgia so we will be moving shortly. Although I love pysch I also have a love for dialysis. I graduated and went straight to pysch, but while I was in nursing school I thoroughly enjoyed working on the dialysis unit. I have applied to Davita dialysis countless times and every time I get the same computer generated "you do not meet are minimum requirements" response. My question is how do a nurse with pysch experience transition to dialysis? Should I try med/surg first? Help!

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Med-surg is probably a good idea but if you could get on a nephrology unit in a hospital that would be even better. They will be more likely to hire you without previous clinical experience then the HD clinic too.

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Hello all!

I am currently working as a pysch/ detox nurse in Florida but my fiancé just got a promotion to Georgia so we will be moving shortly. Although I love pysch I also have a love for dialysis. I graduated and went straight to pysch, but while I was in nursing school I thoroughly enjoyed working on the dialysis unit. I have applied to Davita dialysis countless times and every time I get the same computer generated "you do not meet are minimum requirements" response. My question is how do a nurse with pysch experience transition to dialysis? Should I try med/surg first? Help!

Have you tried applying to other companies that provide dialysis? Try fmcna.com. I know they have clinics in Georgia and hire new grads. I was a psych nurse before going into dialysis, you just need to be persistent

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Have you tried applying to other companies that provide dialysis? Try fmcna.com. I know they have clinics in Georgia and hire new grads. I was a psych nurse before going into dialysis, you just need to be persistent

Thanks! Ill try they! President with a capital P!

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i'm surprised DaVita didn't hire you - they DO hire new grads from time to time. your psych background will be VERY useful in dialysis - there are a TON of psych patients, plus the regular patienst with everyday foibles. the toxins build up in their system - in general, they are a tough bunch to deal with.

keep trying with DaVita & Fresenius eventually something will open up. ask if you can do shadow days at any of the clinics- the pace is VERY fast.

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I have been a diAlysis nurse for a year. Prior to that I was a corrections nurse. I think that dialysis is an area that will be learned. No nurse can be a dialysis nurse on day 1, u have to be trained. Good luck

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I work on in a hospital setting, and our psych pt. population is huge. When they are unmanageable in an out pt setting we get them, It would be a bonus to have experience in that area. Most all ESRD patients have very distinctive personalities .

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It's so funny I just came across your post because I too am a psych nurse and I do love it, but I have grown increasingly frustrated with the way my floor is run (i.e. management/physicians) and I have started researching dialysis nursing as a possibility.

I also do not have actual med-surg floor experience, but my psych floor is the ECT/gero-psych floor, so there are a lot of patients with medical co-morbidities and so I do feel I'm not just a pill pusher/paper trail girl.

Have you made any decisions? I'd like to know what you ended up doing :)

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