A dialysis technician is the person who is responsible for setting up and operating a dialysis machine. They have to transport the patient back and forth from the waiting room to the dialysis room. Before the patient gets to receive their dialysis for the day, the technician has to check the patients weight, temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and respiration rate. If it is the first time that the patient would be receiving the dialysis, then the technician would explain the whole process of dialysis to the patient. This helps to calm the nerves of the patient. Once the patient is receiving the dialysis, the technician will keep a check on the machine and the patients’ vital signs to make sure everything is working like it is suppose to. These technicians can also be called emodialysis technicians or patient care technicians.
Job Responsibilities
A dialysis technician has a lot of different responsibilities. The first responsibility is to operate the dialysis machine. Therefore, they must known everything about how these machines work. The second responsibility to keep the machine as clean as possible. This means cleaning and sterilizing the machine after the machine has been used by a patient. The third responsibility is to take the patients’ weight and vital signs. This process has to put before the dialysis, during the dialysis, and after the dialysis. This helps to ensure the safety of the patient and to make sure nothing goes wrong with the process. The fourth responsibility is to tell the patients how they could do the dialysis at home themselves. This helps them to feel more independent and not have to travel to the hospital all the time.
Training and Education Requirements
A dialysis technician is required to have a high school diploma or GED certificate. They do not have to go to a major college or university to learn how to become a dialysis technician. But they will have to go through a training program like a technical college, community college, or hospital. There are a lot of community and technical colleges that offer courses that people can take where they can quickly learn how to become a dialysis technician. But if a person wants to make more money then they will need to take the longer courses so they can learn as much as possible about being a dialysis technician. Sometimes the hospital that a person is working for will offer a training program where a person can learn more about it from a registered nurse. If you decide in high school that you want to become a dialysis technician, make sure to pay close attention to your health and science classes.
A Dialysis Technicians’ Salary and Wages
There are a lot of things that can affect the way a dialysis technician is paid. Some of these things include the location of the job, your experience doing this type of job, the demand of the job, and the training that you have received for the job. The more training and experience that a person has in the field of dialysis, the more money that they will be making. If a person is working in a huge hospital instead of a small doctors office, they will also be making more money. The average salary for a dialysis technician is from twenty six thousand dollars to thirty four thousand dollars a year. They will also get several benefits like health insurance, paid vacation and holidays, and sick leave.
Certifications
A dialysis technician is required to have certification before they can go forward in their career as a dialysis technician. It is now mandatory by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for all dialysis technicians to have a form of certification. This is because of the type of job that the dialysis technician is performing. The patients’ lives depends on them knowing what they are doing every time they operate the machine. Also with this certification before you apply for a job, you are more likely to get the job. This is because the employer can feel a lot more confident with your abilities as a dialysis technician. All of the states require that they the dialysis technician be certified by the the Board of Nephrology Examination for Nurses and Technicians. Therefore, they have to take a three hour test and answer about 150 questions about their job.
Professional Associations
The main professional association for a dialysis technician is the National Renal Administration Association. The NRAA was established in 1977 to represent all of the facilities and centers that deal with dialysis in the United States. Usually this association helps out people who are in the final stage of renal disease. It does not matter if the center is in a hospital or if it is a profitable company or a non profit.
