Pros and Cons of Dialysis Nursing

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DIALYSIS NURSING:
Chronic/Acute Dialysis Nurse Pros & Cons Your Questions Answered

If you are a Nursing Student, New Nurse, or Experienced Nurse and thinking about becoming a dialysis nurse, I know you have QUESTIONS.
You may even have CONCERNS.
But you can stop worrying because that's why I created this video.
I want you to be INFORMED.
I also want you to be RELAXED.
So let's address YOUR CONCERNS about becoming a dialysis nurse.
By watching this PROS AND CONS video, you'll likely have a much better UNDERSTANDING to the ANSWERS to your QUESTIONS about being a dialysis nurse.

CHRONIC Dialysis Nurse Pros and Cons
ESRD patients that need dialysis 3x/week to stay alive.
Early mornings
The dialysis patient will be at the clinic for ~3.5 hours. and where I work we have 3 "shifts" of patients.
Kind of like a restaurant where we have a morning rush, lunch rush, dinner rush
Lets do some math.
So 3.5 x 3 = 10.5 hours of dialysis per chair
Each patient is there for ~3.5 hours/treatment x 3 shifts/day = 10.5 hours day.
But each shift ~1.5 hours. 1.5 hours x 3 shifts = 4.5 hours
10.5+ 4.5 = 15 clinic hours day
My clinics 15 hour time frame is we are open from 04451930. Our clinic is open for ~15 hours.
This is not a desk job
On your feet all day.
Major multi tasking
Lab review
Phone calls
*Work as a team*
Major collaboration
Great video of THE DIALYSIS TEAM you should watch
Nephrologist, NP, Dietitian, Social Worker, dialysis Techs (become good friends with your techs, that will guarantee you a GOOD GOOD day
Axillary staff:
Interventional Radiologist or Vascular surgeon team when needed Fistula maintenance, catheter placement
Patients are complicated:
Work with wound clinic, hematology/oncology department, GI team
Transplant team: do lab work, send treatment records
Work with the same patients every week.
You work with the same patients 3 x/week.
Sad when someone you’ve grown close to dies
Check out DAY IN THE LIFE video, it was filmed on a HARD HARD DAY
You are specialized
You are specialized. You are specialized. You are SPECIAL
Hire new Grads
Let's start with the Pros and Cons of the Acute Dialysis nurse.
ACUTE Dialysis Nurse Pros/Cons
Provide dialysis care to people admitted into the hospitals, this includes new and established dialysis patients. This includes Hemodialysis, Peritoneal dialysis, and Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (ICU only)
1. Early mornings and Late Nights—and the rest of the PROS and CONS will explain this...
2. Day depends on census. Your day is done when the dialysis orders are done
In other words, you have your scheduled shift, but that is just an approximate time of what time you will be done (and what time call in pay will start). Your day depends completely on the amount of HD orders come in that day.
Lots of patients will means a long day. 12+ hours
And that's the life of an acute nurse, longs days or short days.
3. Day can change in a dime
1. You think you are going home, and then BAM! someone is in the ED with high potassium and now you have to stay another 5 hours
1. (1:1 HD order = 5 hours)
1. Have to do call
This is another reason you might not be done on time, you are on call!
2. Work autonomously Either you love that or you hate it. This might be 1 of the reasons you will decide dialysis nursing is not for you, working autonomously is NOT for everyone.
1. This should be one of your interview question, at what point do you start doing call on your own? 3 months? 6 months?
2. Must be a nurse for 1 year before you can work alone at the hospital
3. Example of when you will be working alone: If you get called in in the middle of the night for an emergent run, you are the ONLY one that knows how to run that machine, cannulate that fistula, use the Water Unit.
3. YOU ARE SPECIALIZED
1. You are specialized, you are special
YOU ARE THE HERO

00:00 Pros and Cons
00:40 About Me
02:42 Chronic & Acute Defined
04:00 Chronic Dialysis Pros & Cons
08:35 Acute Dialysis Pros & Cons
11:38 Chronic vs Acute
DISCLAIMER: This video is intended for education purposes only and is not intended as medical advice

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