Do you have an interest in science and technology, an empathic and a compassionate nature with the innate desire to help others? If yes, then becoming a Dialysis Technician might be the right job for you.
Educational Pre-requisites
In order to become a Dialysis Technician, you must complete your high school diploma with special focus on health science subjects. After that, you can try getting either a one-year diploma or an associate’s degree within the same field. However, you must make sure that it is accredited by the Board of Nephrology Examiners Nursing and Technology.
Apart from this, volunteering at hospitals or other dialysis centers might be a good idea as you can get firsthand experience of what your future job might be like. You can also pursue working part time while gaining your associate’s degree. Moreover, students are encouraged to look into training as registered nurses while working since that experience will open more opportunities. In this case, you must try learning about the different processes involved in dialysis as well as the technical know-how about operating and maintaining the equipment.
Once you complete your degree from an accredited institution, you will be offered an externship so that you can get all the necessary experience required within this field. Many states also require that you sit for and pass a certification exam for you to be licensed to practice. So, you should try looking into these requirements and determining how much clinical experience you need to be eligible.
Duties and Responsibilities
A Dialysis Technician normally works with people who have kidney problems. They use a number of machines and equipment to remove all the excess waste and salt from a patient’s blood. These professionals usually work under the supervision of a licensed nurse in hospitals, clinics, etc. Some of their primary responsibilities include:
- Monitoring and operating the dialysis machinery
- Preparing pre and post treatment reports
- Preparing patients for dialysis and making them feel comfortable and at ease
- Monitoring the dialysis machine operation, cleaning, and sterilization
- Carefully monitoring and recording the patient’s weight and vital signs before, during, and after the blood cleansing procedures
- Instructing patients about in-home treatments after the dialysis
Career Outlook
This is steadily growing field for qualified workers who have a lot of knowledge and years of work experience. So, if you’re interested, you should know that technicians are usually required to work forty hours a week for an average starting pay of $20,000 per year.
However, with the right education and experience, a Dialysis Technician can easily be promoted to become a chief technician or a biomedical equipment trainer. Yet, you need the proper training for this. sterile processing technician