Dialysis Nurse Job Description – A Path To Have a Bright Career
One of the thousands nursing profession is dialysis nursing. Patients suffering from kidney diseases need the support of these nurses. Their job is not easy, and thus they require having formal education and the additional requirements to serve as a dialysis nurse. A registered nurse having state license is eligible to serve in this profession. To get more detailed job description of dialysis nurse, read the complete article.
Dialysis Nurse Job Description
They help kidney patients, and thus their duties and responsibilities are more. They regulate the bodily fluids, electrolyte, and dispose of the impurities in a body. All these functions help in preventing the failure of a kidney. Hemodialysis and peritoneal are the two types of dialysis they provide. Special equipment is used to take care of kidney patients. They monitor the patients before and after the treatments.
Responsibilities And Duties of Dialysis Nurse
There is a department of dialysis in hospitals or clinics where these nurses work. Patients with renal failure need injections; these nurses administer the entire process of treatments. The impure blood of the patients is extracted, clean and returns to the body by a machine called hemodialysis. A dialysis nurse should be able to operate that machine. Thus, a life of the patients is in the hands of these nurses.
Monitoring vital signs in patients, communicate the detailed procedure of treatment with them, assessing the effectiveness, and much more come under the duties of these nurses. They should be sympathetic, positive and care for patients. Their main role is to assist the dialysis treatments. They are also known as nephrology nurse as the term is interchangeable with the dialysis.
They are often known as the renal dialysis nurse. They function in many settings and perform the tasks mentioned above. They work in settings like homes, clinics, and other chronic care settings.
Dialysis Nurse Duties
- Evaluate the reaction of the patients after treatment
- Inform the doctor about the changing condition of the patient’s health
- Support the team to give a quality care to the patients in a respectful manner
- Ensure that the patient is relieving the correct medications prescribed by the doctor
- Teach patient about their treatment and diseases
- Those who do not receive the hemodialysis get the peritoneal dialysis. It is performed at home. The duties and roles of both the nurses are somewhat same but have some differences.
- Assess the condition of patients
- Teach how to perform the dialysis at home
- Make a treatment plan
- Evaluate the performance of patients
To perform well and take good care of the patients, they must have some skills such as general nursing skills, compassion empathy, and knowledge of machinery and observation skills. These skills are essential and must be developed with a course of education. Good skills and education will boost the career and will help in better understanding of the nephrology and can offer effective treatment and care to help in regaining the patient’s health. Thus, understand what role and duties one has to perform as a dialysis nurse. The better they know, the higher they can go in the career.
Dialysis Nurse Education Requirments
To become a dialysis nurse, get the graduate degree from any university or college. It may be 1 or 4-year program offered by the university. After the graduation, the candidate can also get the master degree. It will take only 1 to 2 year to complete the master degree. Individuals can get the education from the online or on-campus colleges. Both options are available to provide the necessary knowledge to pursue a career in this profession. Apart from the basic educational requirements, one can also improve their professional knowledge through the advanced nursing programs.
This was the basic necessity to make the career in this field of nursing. To get the good opportunity and work in the various medical settings they are required to have a license. Without a license, nobody can start their career and thus it is the essential part of the requirements. To get the license the exam of NCLEX-RN has to be passed. Those who pass the exam the good grades will get the license and can start their career as the dialysis nurse anywhere in the state.
Special certifications are also available to get the additional credentials in nephrology nursing. Certification in Three different areas is offered by nephrology nursing certification commission. These areas include:
- Certified dialysis nurse or CDN– this certificate is for those having experience of 2000 hours in any care center.
- Certified nephrology nurse or CNN- it is for those having at least 2 years of experience. Candidates having bachelor degree are eligible for this type of certification.
- CNN-NP- it is for the registered nurses having the master degree in nursing. The minimum experience required for this certification is 2000 hours in any dialysis care center.
Every state has the different requirements for degrees and certification to allow the dialysis nurse to serve in different medical settings. It is, therefore, necessary to know the requirements of the state to practice without any hindrance.
The coursework offered by the programs includes supervised clinical work, lectures to educate the students about the basic care, evaluation procedures and other. There they learn about the management skills, decision-making skills, etc. in advanced courses they learn about the nephrology.
Certified Dialysis Nurse Salary
Similar to other occupations, the salary of a dialysis nurse is based on their qualifications, location of workplace, experience, and certification. Those who have the higher education like master or doctorate get higher salary than those with bachelor or associate degree in nursing. When it comes to the location of workplace, then different states offer different payment based on the availability of the jobs and requirements. Experience also plays role in getting the higher amount of salary package.
As the practitioners move on from the entry-level, mid-career to a later stage, they acquire high experience to deal with the all the conditions that can occur while treating the patients. Therefore, those with good experience are paid well. Certification also plays an important role as it defines that the individuals are having the hands-on training in the particular field. Also, it assures that the person is having sufficient knowledge in the relevant field of nursing and is eligible to serve in the same field. Although these nurses in the initial stages of their jobs work under the supervision when they acquire enough experience then there is no need to work under supervision.
Certified Dialysis Nurse Salary Description
| Basis | Pay Scale |
|---|---|
| Hourly Rate | $25.08 – $39.10 |
| Hourly Tips | $1.48 |
| Overtime | $30.08-$58.18 |
| Bonus | $98.63 – $4,970 |
| Commission | $0.00 |
| Profit Sharing | $298 – $3,020 |
| Total Pay | $52,249 – $84,272 |
In the United States, as per the survey per hour wage is $31.07. Registered nurses get the cash allowance that includes bonuses up to 5k. In few cases they get profit sharing up to 2k that causes the huge variance in income. Medical benefits, dental coverage, and many more benefits are included in their pocket.
Hourly Wages Of Dialysis Nurse
The hourly rate for them ranges from $25.08-$39.10. They can also get tips as a token of appreciation on the hourly basis, and it is around $1.48. Those who spend extra time in doing their job or in other words perform overtime gets $30.08-$58.18 as an additional payment for their work. The share of bonus is up to $98.63 – $4,970. There is no commission for the dialysis nurses. The share of profit is $298 – $3,020. Therefore, the total pay for them is estimated around $52,249 – $84,272.
How Much Does Dialysis Nurse Make?
Well, known firms like DaVita offer the good pay to them and the median salary they offer $76k.
DaVita would like to have dialysis nurse having:
- RN license that is offered by the state
- CPR certification
- CNN or CDN
- willing to get trained
- Strong work ethic, like to face intellectual challenges, work in a team
Individuals having all the above requirements will get the good package from DaVita. There are many more reputable firms that offered an excellent salary package to those with excellent knowledge and experience of years in the field of nephrology. Some of the states pay the highest salary to their employees and thus working in those states can boost the career of dialysis nurses. Texas is one of the highest paying states that pay the good salary.
Job Outlook
Those having all the necessary certification and educational qualifications can see a good path in this profession. There is a promising career waiting for those having vast experience. Many patients due to the unhealthy lifestyle are suffering from the kidney issues and thus need of such professionals nurses are increasing. To make a bright career, it is essential that the students taking education in this particular field of nursing should have good knowledge. They should be well trained and thus must focus on their training programs.
The basic education is the base but to update with advanced medical technology is the need. Having the latest updates in the medical technology is one that will assure that employers will hire them. In the field of medical industry, the growth of their demand will increases by 22% in the next decade.
To have the high level of job satisfaction, it is essential to be adaptable to working conditions. It is necessary because the jobs come with the high level of stress because expectation from these nurses is very high. Patients related to kidney issues are increasing and thus load on these nurses will increase further. As their responsibilities are greater thus, patients depend on them for getting the quick recovery.
As final words, this is the good and stable career for those having patience and good evaluating skills. They must be trained under the stressful conditions so that they can bear the high level of stress during the work.
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