Dialysis Nursing; A Career With Many Opportunities

There is an over abundance of Dialysis Nurse jobs available, making it an excellent career field with a great career outlook. It is a fast paced and hectic work environment, but it is also very rewarding. Dialysis patients not only need excellent medical care, but compassion and comfort. A dialysis nurse is also referred to as a nephrology nurse, a urology nurse or a renal nurse. Being a specialized nursing career, the job description differs from that of RN who performs general patient care. They are the key component for managing patient care and operating complex dialysis equipment. They also perform medical procedures, do patient assessments, blood product transfusions, lab work, and general patient care. Kidney failure can be serious and life threatening, so a well trained and dedicated nurse can be a dialysis’ patients lifeline. Nurses spend a lot of one on one time with patients, so to be successful they must be empathetic and kind. Exceptional interaction skills, communication skills, decision making skills and having the ability to work as part of a team are also necessary to be successful in this field. Outside of hospitals, there are approximately 3,600 dialysis facilities in the United States, giving Dialysis nurses opportunities to work from just about anywhere. Although job opportunities are primarily in hospitals and clinics, nurses are not limited to these settings. Dialysis nurses can specialize in home treatment and teach patients how to perform dialysis procedures at home. They not only educate their patients, they also monitor and administer medications and evaluate how their patient's home dialysis routine is progressing. This gives them some freedom and the ability to create their own schedule. Dialysis nurses working at facilities typically work between 36-50 hours a week. The salary for dialysis nurses can be very generous. According to salary.com, the average salary is over $64,000. This amount varies, and can be higher based on experience, additional certification and having a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, or a Master’s of Science in Nursing. If the nurse has a Certified Hemodialysis Nurse credential they can expect higher pay. Although most employers prefer experience, if you are new to the field there are still plenty of Dialysis Nurse jobs available. A career as a Dialysis Nurse is not only rewarding mentally, but it provides a great sense of security. The healthcare industry is the largest industry in the world providing 14 million jobs and the United States Department of Labor predicts that it will generate 3 million new wage and salary jobs between 2006 and 2016. The high demand and low supply of dialysis nurses make it a career with many opportunities. This combined with the self-satisfaction of taking care of others and improving peoples lives makes being a diagnostic nurse a fulfilling, life long career.