What is a Dialysis Nurse?
Explaining to your family and friends what a Dialysis Nurse exactly is can sometimes be difficult! You want to give them a small rundown of your day, but it seems almost impossible because you do so much yet you don’t want to brag or drag on. Most of the time when someone asks you what you do, you almost just want to keep it simple and say “I’m a nurse.” You should be proud of your specialty! In honor of March being National Kidney Month, we are going to do the explaining for you. Share this with your friends and family and show them a little about what you do and why you love it.
First we will answer the most basic question, “What is a Dialysis Nurse?”
Dialysis nurses are experts in all types of dialysis, including hemodialysis (in which a machine is used to clean the blood) and peritoneal dialysis (in which a special fluid is injected into the person’s abdominal cavity to absorb toxins).
Dialysis nurses serve as a lifeline for patients who suffer from kidney failure. They support, monitor, educate and medicate the patients in order to prolong their life.
Next question, “What do you do all day?”
The question should really be, what do you not do all day? Dialysis Nurses wear several hats. These hats include monitoring patients’ vital signs before, during and after procedures, constantly being on alert for complications and evaluating the effectiveness of the ongoing treatment. One of the most important aspects of this position is educating the patients about their disease and how they can effectively manage it with diet and lifestyle practices. Since kidney disease is a very complex health issue, Dialysis Nurses also coordinate patient care with doctors, dietitians and other members of the healthcare team.
Last question you may ask is, “Why did you choose Dialysis Nursing?”
This answer will differ from person to person, but Dialysis Nursing requires specialized knowledge, skills and personality traits that flourish in this type of setting. One of these is the advanced technical skills that are needed to operate the machinery. Dialysis patients usually have other medical conditions that go along with kidney disease, so strong analytical skills and attention to detail are a must to manage all their conditions.
In any kind of nursing, you must practice good empathy and compassion to connect and motivate your patients. That, along with strong communication and leadership skills are what set nurses apart from most other occupations.
Nursing, in any field, is an incredibly rewarding job. You should be proud of the strides you’ve made to save patients’ lives. Friends and family of Dialysis Nurses, we hope this shed a small amount of light onto what your incredibly talented and hard working nurse does on a daily basis. Share this with your friends and family to show them a little about what you do today and don’t forget to thank the nurse in your life for all the hard work they do!
