Hemodialysis Jobs

Dialysis is the artificial method of removing waste products such as potassium and urea from the human body when a patient has kidney failure. Hemodialysis removes these waste products directly from the patient’s blood and is the most common form of dialysis. As a general rule, most patients whose kidneys have ceased to function adequately require three to four hours of dialysis treatments three times per week. Larger patients may need up to five hours of treatment. If a patient has some residual kidney function, they may only need treatments twice per week. There is a new short-daily-home hemodialysis treatment which last about 1 ½ to 4 hours given five to seven days per week. Also, there is a growing interest in nocturnal hemodialysis which again takes place in the patient’s home for eight to ten hours per night for three to six nights per week. The dialysis machine acts as a filter system. The patient’s blood is pumped in the dialysis equipment, filtered, cleansed and returned to the patient’s body. The dialysis solution in the machine helps keep the correct balance of healthy minerals normally found in human blood. In order for the hemodialysis machine to access the patient’s blood and filter it, one of three access points must be established in the patient’s body. One access method is the use of a catheter or CVC (central venous catheter). This is a plastic catheter with two lumens which allow blood flow to be withdrawn from the patient to enter the dialysis machine, and the other lumen allows the cleansed blood from the dialysis machine to return back into the patient. The second access method is AV (arteriovenous) fistuala, which is preferred by medical personnel. A vascular surgeon joins an artery and a vein usually in the non-dominant arm or hand. During hemodialysis, two needles are inserted into the fistuala, one to draw blood into the dialysis machine and the other to return the cleansed blood to the patient. The third access method is like a fistuala, but is an AV (arteriovenous) graft, which basically uses an artificial vessel to join the vein and artery. This method, however, has a higher risk of the vein downstream from the graft becoming narrow, which leads to thrombosis and clotting. This method is also at more risk to become infected since the vessel is made of foreign material. Hemodialysis jobs can be located in a hospital setting as either inpatient or outpatient, located in a separate stand-alone outpatient facility, or in some cases hemodialysis treatments can be conducted at the patient’s home. A student wishing to become a hemodialysis technician must have a high school diploma and pass the entrance exam as required by the Department of Education. Hemodialysis training schools offer programs which last approximately 11 weeks, and focus on educating the student on renal physiology, pathology and failure; basic chemistry of body fluids and electrolytes; clinical manifestations of end-stage renal disease; principals of hemodialysis. dialyzers and delivery systems; treatment options for kidney patients; infection control; water treatment; anticoagulation during dialysis; vascular access; emergency situations; complications, treatments, documentation and professionalism in practice. A recent survey shows the average hemodialysis technician makes an annual salary of $30,719 with a lower yearly salary in some areas of the U.S. at $28,148 and incomes as high as $34,635 per year.