Dialysis Nurse Salary, Job Description and Training

By Patmos Zen •  Updated: 07/20/16 •  3 min read

Dialysis Nurse Salary is at an average of $30.01 per hour, and a range of $24.19 – $37.72 per hour. While the annual salary range is $50,544 – $81,684. The salary is affected by a number of other factors such as geographical location, training and education, skills, employer and added benefits.

Some of the benefits that come with the dialysis nurse salary include medical insurance, 401(k), paid vacation, overtime allowances, relocation allowance, and sometimes discounted training cost.

This is a job that report high on the job satisfaction, while majority of the dialysis nurse are women.

Dialysis Nurse Salary

The average salary of dialysis nurse salary is between $50,544 – $81,684 and an hourly pay of $24.19 – $37.72. There are several factors that affect the payment of the dialysis nurse salary.

What is dialysis Nursing?

This is a specialty practice addressing the protection, promotion, and optimization of the health and well-being of individuals with kidney disease. These goals are achieved through the prevention and treatment of illness and injury, and the alleviation of suffering through patient, family, and community advocacy.

Dialysis is a medical procedure that removes wastes and fluid from the blood when the kidneys fail. The blood is removed from the body through a tube, filtered in a machine several times and returned to the body through another tube.

Dialysis Nurse Job Description

The Dialysis Nurse job is a part of nephrology, the aid and give care to patients with kidney issues and challenges. They perform tasks such as maintaining and examining patient reports and records, monitoring patients for signs of change, administering medications, consulting with physicians and other medical staff on a decisive plan of action, and planning and implementing patient care.

They watch the treatment throughout, ensuring that patients are comfortable and that there are no malfunctions with the machines or IV lines.

They must document all activities with their patients in a medical file, writing down notes about the process being sure to document any incidents.

Dialysis Nurse Training and Education

To become a trained dialysis nurse you need to be a registered nurse, a certificate, associate or bachelors degree in nursing is necessary to get registered. An associate degree takes 2-3 years, and 4 years for a bachelor’s degree. Then pass the board exams and other licensing exam to become a dialysis nurse.

The licensing exam is called the National Council Licensure Examination – Registered Nurse (NCLEX – RN). There is also a certification program for register nurse who wants to become a dialysis nurse. The Certified Dialysis Nurse exam is conducted by the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission.

Certification requires two years of experience as a registered nurse, 2,000 hours of working with patients on dialysis and 15 hours of approved continuing education credits; it must be renewed every three years. Employers prefer dialysis nurse who have a minimum of two years experience as a registered nurse before being hired.

The Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission offers a certification program for registered nurses who wish to become a Certified Dialysis Nurse. Certification requires two years of experience as a registered nurse, 2,000 hours of working with patients on dialysis and 15 hours of approved continuing education credits; it must be renewed every three years.