How to Become a Dialysis Nurse
Critical kidney disease currently affects almost half a million Americans, but that number is expected to rise to over two million in the next twenty years if health care doesn't improve. As a result, the function of the kidney disease specialized nurse is more and more important every year.
Though all nurses should be educated in early detection of chronic kidney disease, nurses who specialize in renal conditions can be of huge help to people suffering form this debilitating disease. Towards the end stage of renal disease and other renal complications, kidneys function at a rate as much as 85% lower than kidneys functioning normally.
Related Content:
- Registered Nurse Specialties - Nursing Career Information
- Informational Interview With a Registered Nurse
A nurse who works with patients suffering from kidney diseases goes by a number of names. Referred to as urology nurses, nephrology nurses, renal nurses and dialysis nurses, these nurse cover any number of conditions, but typically work with dialysis. Dialysis nurses undergo certification in order to use dialysis equipment, which filters urine for patients who's kidneys have stopped functioning correctly.
A typical dialysis nurse makes slightly over $60,000 a year, but this depends on the agency he or she works with and the area he or she practices in. Some districts pay as low as the mid $50,000s, and some pay more than $70,000 a year. Further alterations to the salary result from increased certifications, higher education and experience. One of the advantages of becoming a dialysis nurse is that dialysis nursing is one of the least staffed areas in health care. Consequently, your services will be in high demand, making it slightly easier to find a job.
Regarding education, dialysis and renal nurses require additional education to gain certification. Start with a nursing degree from any accredited program, from an Associate degree to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Nurses with higher education are generally paid more than those with the minimum amount and are more likely to be hired. After gaining your nursing degree, study diseases of the kidneys. There are plenty of programs that you could attend in order to get the information you need. Then, take your state's Certified Dialysis Nurse Examination. After you pass, you'll have the certification you need to operate a dialysis machine.
Related Content:
- How to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant CNA
- How Much Does It Cost to Become a CNA
- What Education Is Needed to Become a Registered Nurse
When caring for a patient who has recently undergone renal transplant, nurses have additional concerns that go beyond the everyday post-surgical recuperation. Renal nurses working with postoperative patients are chiefly responsible for timely healing. Because steroids slow down the healing process, and sutures need to be left in for three weeks, infection can be a big problem. In order to ensure that no permanent damage has occurred during the healing process, nurses need to be constantly aware of their patient's condition.
Maintaining hydration and electrolyte balance is more important for kidney transplant patients than it is for others, due to the impaired function of the kidneys during this stage. As always, nurses need to tend to the wound and the patient's pain. Many of the medications that the patient will be prescribed following surgery will act as a constipator, so it's important to administer laxatives, stool softeners and enemas to clear the bowels.
