Shadow Day at Davita

adsmithrn · May 19, 2016

Basically, you follow a nurse for a few hours to see what a day in dialysis is like. This lets you see if it is something you would really like to do. Also, it allows the teammates to talk with you and decide if you would be a good fit for the clinic.

At my clinic, my FA would always ask our opinion prior to hiring someone. After all, you will be part of their team.

heronurse · May 19, 2016

Basically, you follow a nurse for a few hours to see what a day in dialysis is like. This lets you see if it is something you would really like to do. Also, it allows the teammates to talk with you and decide if you would be a good fit for the clinic.
At my clinic, my FA would always ask our opinion prior to hiring someone. After all, you will be part of their team.

I'm currently in the hiring process of davita but they havent told me anything about shadowing but wait, they decide it for just 4hours?

adsmithrn · May 19, 2016

I think it's something the manager decides. It's usually 4-5 hours. That way you can get an idea for how a day in dialysis goes. I have seen some people get hired the same day they shadow, others weeks later. Make sure you know what questions to ask such as nurse/pt ratio, hours, schedule, etc.

Highly_Favored · May 20, 2016

I think it's something the manager decides. It's usually 4-5 hours. That way you can get an idea for how a day in dialysis goes. I have seen some people get hired the same day they shadow, others weeks later. Make sure you know what questions to ask such as nurse/pt ratio, hours, schedule, etc.

Thank you!! Should I be prepared to answer anything regarding dialysis?? Or is it to feel me out?

westieluv · May 20, 2016

Both Davita and Fresenius realize that to most potential new hires with no dialysis experience dialysis is a foreign entity, and they do not expect you to know about dialysis when you start, that is why you get such a long, intense training. They teach you from the ground up.

I think shadowing is so that you can get a better idea if this is what you really want to do. Chronic dialysis patients are a very unique patient population, the work flow can be very stressful, and the environment is unlike any other in nursing. If you get the feeling while you are shadowing that you would not want to spend 40 hours a week in that environment with those patients, then you have the opportunity to opt out before they have invested anything in you as far as training, uniforms, etc.

nutella, MSN, RN · May 20, 2016

Thank you!! Should I be prepared to answer anything regarding dialysis?? Or is it to feel me out?

It is an opportunity for you to see the place, meet the people and get a better idea of the actual work.

For the team it is an opportunity to get to know you.

I worked for the big 2. I actually turned down one job after shadowing (not one of the big 2 back at that time). The interview was great but when I actually shadowed I noticed a lot of problems with aging equipment, training, work flow, location - so I declined and told them to contact me if things were to change in the future.

Important things for you to look for /ask :

- how many chairs are there?

- does the clinic have a night program? big clinic with night dialysis in addition is usually more stressful - they may ask you to cover nights once you are on your own...

- does the clinic also houses PD and home HD programs?

- Larger clinic : how many assessments and medication administrations does the RN have to do? There is a huge difference between a small clinic with like 12 or so or being responsible for 18 or more. Most pat have iv meds and nowadays it takes some while to get that done. You need to imagine that once the patients are on the machine you do not only have to document and monitor - as the RN you also have to perform all assessments, meds, document those and respond to emergencies, call MDs and so on and forth.

- how many isolation rooms (hep B positive patients)

- pay special attention to patient turnover - how smooth does that go? do they help each other? are the techs and nurses working together ?

- look at the patient population - some clinics are in areas where the population is disadvantaged, I worked at one clinic where one or two patients would start to rile up other patients regularly...

- who runs the show? the patients or the staff? important because in some clinics patient just stroll in, do not wait for the staff to get them and "run the show" - that usually does not work ...

- is the clinic on time or are patient complaining for not being put on on time?

What you should ask:

- who would precept you? usually it is a mix of HD technician and nurse.

- Where do you have to go for training? (they usually send you somewhere for some part of training unless you live in that city/town already).

- how many nurses are CNN certified?

I know that there are a lot of strong opinions about which of the big 2 is better but I worked for both and think it is more of a preference in terms of work culture. Personally, Davita did an excellent job in training me when I started in dialysis but it prob depends also on the clinic. Some clinics are notoriously known to be "bad" places and staff leaves after short period. You will have support but you also need to be proactive and do the readings so get the best understanding. Clinic is fast paced but if there is no night program you might get ok work hours!