What Is a Dialysis Nurse?
A dialysis nurse is a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or registered nurse (RN) who specializes in working with patients who have kidney disease or experienced kidney failure and who must undergo a treatment known as dialysis. In the overwhelming majority of cases, a dialysis nurse is an RN, not an LPN, because an RN has completed at least two years of training. He or she is certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and generally is a certified nephrology nurse (CNN) or a certified dialysis nurse (CDN) as well. This type of nurse is among the health care providers who understand how a dialysis machine operates and who monitor the health of patients with kidney problems who must undergo dialysis. It usually is a dialysis nurse who draws blood from a patient, changes catheter dressings, ensures that catheters are cleaned and free of kinks and is a source of information about kidney disease for patients.