Tips for new grad starting Davita dialysis houston

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · May 12, 2009

I have been in dialysis for six years, been a traveler for five. I stick by my statement, as it applies to things I have observed in my experience.

Your experience may vary. :)

sunshine06 · May 12, 2009

I never thought about working as a dialysis center as a new grad. I haven't graduated yet but I thought I was going to start my search as the hospital but now maybe not. I checked out their website. For the New Grad program do have to be a current employee or have worked for them in the past for 6 months as a PCT or something. Any information is good. Thanks

amsama · May 12, 2009

Hi, I would just like to say that i started with Davita in Houston in November 2008. However, I am looking for a new job already. Davita gives you a star tracker when you start. My star tracker is empty to this date. Not to mention, I worked four different clinics within a five and a half month time frame. I was told by experienced nurses that I really did not have to know the machines in depth. THAT IS A LIE!!!!!!! Please make sure that you are comfortable with the machines. I have a sour taste in my mouth about Davita!!! I was so excited and eager to learn dialysis, but without proper training it is frustrating. I am not trying to still your joy about your new job, because dialysis can be a very fulfilling specialty to have under your belt. My advice to you is to not let them throw you into a role that you are not ready for. It happened to me. You see davita has to have a RN in the building to operate. My FA sent me to clinics as the second nurse, being the only RN in the building on orientation that just did not sit well with me. Next, the straw that broke the camel's back was that I was scheduled to work as a charge nurse, before my six months time of employment. I was told that another FA would train me in the charge nurse role if I covered for her two days. It did not make sense to me, but I agreed because I wanted to keep my job and I hoped that things would get better. Unfortunately, I did become overwhelmed and could have put my license in jeopardy. My training consisted of alot of LMS classes, and a day to day schedule. I did not have a regular schedule of activities from day to day. Not to mention i was employed a coulple of months before I went to the Davita prep class. Questions I had were dismissed with you will learn that when you go to class. Oh and the books that they give you on day one, I had to do the assignments by myself. That is just rediculous for someone that is new to dialysis. Not to mention that I never did get the option to access fistulas or grafts. Catheters of course the techs cannot do that one.

DeLana_RN, BSN, RN · May 24, 2009

....
I still couldn't shake that gut feeling I have had ever since I accepted the positon 4 weeks ago. I looked through the treatment window and heard the loudest voice "this is not the place for you" What r u waiting for, and why are you here on your day off. ( worked 5 -12 hour shiftsout of the past 7 days).. I am not secure in my own knowledge as a nurse with only 4 months of experience to venture out yet. So- I got up, left and called my recruiter to tell her I decline the job at this time. THAT is what my GUT told me to do. I feel so bad but I feel good at the same time....

Good for you, I wish I had ever had such a gut feeling (or heard a loud voice!) when I ventured into an ill-advised job.

You clearly made the right decision.

Best of luck to you,

DeLana

DrCrimwitt · Mar 3, 2011

I have 2 years chronic and 3 years acute dialysis experience, as well as IT, business ownership, etc. I've applied to DaVita and had a 3 month interview with them for a clinical coordinators position for an inner city facility of theirs in Boston. At the end of my last interview I was told by the HR person interviewing me that the nurses and techs were responsible for the non-compliant behavior of their clients once they left the facility. :rolleyes: Since the clients are homeless, drug users and whores, you have no chance of meeting your company's goals or receive the "bonus" they tell you that you will get if you meet certain milestones in lab values and KT/V, etc. In other words, you will NOT meet them and thus will not get the bonus. I said to the HR person that this isn't fair to the employees taking care of these people and that if you set your employees up for failure, failure is what you will get. Instead of correcting me telling me I misconstrued what she was saying, she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "that's just the way it is!" :eek: Needless to say, I didn't get the job.

Four months later I see a position as a staff dialysis nurse in suburb facility of theirs. I apply and get an email to let them know when would be a good time to interview on the phone. I sent an email letting them know and waiting on that day for them to call or send me an email in response to mine. NOTHING. I sent several other emails to no avail. Then I sent one more to another Davita recruiter and finally got a call. She knew I was the one who went through the 3 month interview for the Clinical Coordinators position in Boston. During our phone interview she asked what happened. I told her. She said the reason I didn't get hired was due to me telling the HR person that if you set your employees up for failure, failure is what you will get. I mentioned to this recruiter that the HR person didn't explain or retort that I was mistaken and tell me otherwise. So she just said that there must have been miss communication on both our parts.

No! No miss communication. The HR person said what she said and told me, "That's just the way it is." So the recruiter blamed me anyway. Now, at the end of our conversation she said she would call the hiring manager at this facility, "To see if she would like to interview you!" To see if she would like to interview me? I said fine, talk with him or her and "see if should would like to interview me." She told me that if I didn't hear from them by Tuesday of the next week to call her. Yeah...right! Did I hear? NOPE. And I knew I wouldn't. And I never called or wrote her back. No reason too. Why? She most likely didn't tell the hiring manager about me and if I called or wrote to her I would get something like, "the position was filled" or "after looking over your qualifications she decided you weren't a good fit" or some B.S. like that.

You see, they aren't interested in anyone who thinks for them self, questions things and is proactive. They weren't interested in someone who could take care of the issues they were having in Boston and get the new nurses from being glorified techs to being nurses. And they were interested in someone who has experience because they would have to pay for it.

If you are new to dialysis, you will be busting your ass, getting paid peanuts and dealing with corporate B.S. Best advise is to Cover Your Own Ass! But better yet, find a nursing job that isn't dialysis.

designer-mommy, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

Since the clients are homeless, drug users and whores, you have no chance of meeting your company's goals or receive the "bonus" they tell you that you will get if you meet certain milestones in lab values and KT/V, etc. In other words, you will NOT meet them and thus will not get the bonus.

Wow, that's pretty harsh. I take offense to that statement. My mother had to go to dialysis for about three years before she passed away, and she wasn't homeless, a drug user or a whore. She loved her nurses at DaVita and so did I. They were all so helpful and friendly. Are you sure that you are cut out to be a nurse with such a negative view of your patients? Maybe that's why you didn't get the bonus--your attitude sucks. Don't take problems with management out on your poor patients.

DrCrimwitt · Jul 29, 2011

Wow, that's pretty harsh. I take offense to that statement. My mother had to go to dialysis for about three years before she passed away, and she wasn't homeless, a drug user or a whore. She loved her nurses at DaVita and so did I. They were all so helpful and friendly. Are you sure that you are cut out to be a nurse with such a negative view of your patients? Maybe that's why you didn't get the bonus--your attitude sucks. Don't take problems with management out on your poor patients.

Well designer-mommy, if you had read my post thoroughly you would understand what I was saying. Perhaps you need to reread it again! I have never worked for DaVita. I was interviewing for a Clinical Coordinators position. What you are so taken offensive of is what they told me. It wasn't I who made those remarks. It was the HR person from DaVita who made them.

I would venture to guess that you weren't really reading my post so much as skimming it then picking and choosing what you wanted to take out of context based on your experience so you could be offended (act like a victim) and excoriate me.

My attitude doesn't suck, mommy! DaVita's does. And I wouldn't get a bonus from them since I've never worked for them. These patients weren't mine since I wasn't working there.

So before ******* on me about how I suck, or if I am cut out of be a nurse (I've a BSN, RN, CLNC, RAC), you should learn to read for content and see things in their full context and perhaps you wouldn't have made an absolute fool of yourself in front of the whole world!

designer-mommy, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

at the end of my last interview i was told by the hr person interviewing me that the nurses and techs were responsible for the non-compliant behavior of their clients once they left the facility. since the clients are homeless, drug users and whores, you have no chance of meeting your company's goals or receive the "bonus" they tell you that you will get if you meet certain milestones in lab values and kt/v, etc.

i thought those were your words, not hers...sorry.

while i don't believe i made a fool out of myself in front of the whole world, i do wholeheartedly apologize for my post. i love this forum and i'm not here to pick fights. you're right, i didn't read the entire thing. once i saw that all of the dialysis patients were homeless, drug users and whores, everything else kind of faded away. again, that is because of my personal relationship with a dialysis patient (my mother who was in her 60s and was certainly none of those), so i am a bit biased. i did see that you stated that the hr person said that the staff was responsible for the non-compliant behavior of their clients once they left, but the statement after the rolling eyes smiley looked as though those were your own thoughts. i guess the smiley made me mentally separate that into her statement and your thoughts. again, i do apologize. i did misread it, but it was an honest mistake. it's sad that an hr person would say that about patients who are truly suffering with kidney failure and trying to schedule their lives around dialysis. :crying2:

DrCrimwitt · Aug 1, 2011

That smiley face is actually a look of "you've got to be kidding me!" My patients were well taken care of by me. I made a lot of friends from family members due to my care of my patients and my new fiance's mother was one of them.

I accept your apologies and wish you the best. And yes, it is truly sad that an HR person from a Dialysis company would say the things she did. Because I was outspoken about how I felt their treatment was how they viewed their staff, DaVita became my new nemesis. I would never work for them, for I am too good for them.

astia · Aug 7, 2011

Hello DrCrimWitt,

I am sorry for that bad experience, but sometimes it is just unfortunate that a set of persons in a specofic company can really give people bad ideas about a company, many all these people were just the wrong persons that you came into contact with. I have experienced those things before but then one day you meet the right person and wondered if this is for real. Keep pushing on, its a terrible experience, sometimes it is not the organization but the people. You seem to be a strong and knowledgeable person, try again