RNs who quit dialysis

I've been in dialysis for about 15 months and it has been a virtual revolving door for RNs, especially in acutes. The acutes department in my area has hired at least eight RNs since I've been with the company who have all quit, mainly because of the long hours and on call requirement. RNs who work in chronics seem to stay longer, it seems like they either love it or hate it.

I have also seen a lot of techs come and go in our chronic units. It seems like they get about so far into orientation and then they either go running for the hills or they stick it out and become awesome techs.

I am an "old" nurse, pushing fifty and been an RN for almost 25 years. I have worked in a lot of areas and have finally realized that no job is perfect and each is stressful in its own way. My kids are grown, and for me, the pace of sitting with one patient while I run their treatment (as opposed to running my legs off as a hospital nurse or overseeing 20-30 dialysis treatments a day in chronics) is worth having to work long hours and take on call, so I just may finish out my nursing career in acute dialysis.

I started working in dialysis in 2010. I was very stressed and overwhelmed at the beginning. If I didn't need the money and the health insurance I would have quit right away. It has been almost four years now and I am thankful that I stayed. It can be a very fast paced, stressful environment but there are benefits to sticking it out. I work in chronic hemo and we are closed on Sunday. I am off early in the afternoon and can be with my kids in the evening. I also like working 4/10 hour days. I would like to try acute dialysis but can not deal with the on call part of the job. When my kids are older or out of the house I may switch over. It is a good job and is much better then working at a hospital . I left for a little while to work in med/surg and it was horrific.