Job Description Outline

HOME DIALYSIS NURSE

POSITION DESCRIPTION

General Statement of Duties: The Home Dialysis Nurse (HDN) will provide assistance with home dialysis patients, training and managing both PD and HHD patients and their helpers. This positions works under the direction of the Assistant Director of Nursing Services (ADNS) for Home Dialysis and Training. The HDN is responsible for the training, medical management, the documentation of following established Puget Sound Kidney Centers (PSKC) standards and practices, compliance with the Washington State Nurse Practice Act, and the provision of quality dialysis care for PSKC patients who choose home dialysis as their modality of care.

QUALIFICATIONS Education: Evidence of graduation from an accredited school of nursing. Bachelor’s degree in nursing preferred.

Licensure & Certification: Current licensure from the Washington State Board of Nursing. Must be certified, or eligible to sit for, any of the examinations for the Certified Nephrology Nurse (CNN), Certified Dialysis Nurse (CDN), Certified Hemodialysis Nurse (CHN), or Certified Peritoneal Nurse (CPN).

Experience: Either in hemodialyis and/or peritoneal dialysis is required.

Skills & Abilities  Has a strong belief that patients are capable and able to care for themselves  Able to approach work requirements in a consistent, well-organized, and timely manner. Able to complete patient training and other work within required time frames.  Able to assess conditions, identify and comprehend complex situations, multi-task efficiently and effectively.  Experienced and skilled at teaching adults; able to adapt teaching style and materials to individual patient needs. Demonstrated ability to teach patients in a clinical setting.  Process oriented, not only task oriented. Able to work through the process of resolving complex and multiple problems.  Confident in physician relationships; interacts and works closely with a variety of physicians and nurses in effective ways. Able to cooperate with physicians and nurses to coordinate goals.  Can develop and maintain effective working relationships with all individuals encountered in the work environment. Able to be a positive team player. Encourage a positive attitude among patients and Home Helpers.  Can maintain up-to-date records in a neat and orderly manner.  Can use a computer.  Can understand, adapt to, apply, and communicate policy and procedural changes.  Read, write, speak, and understand English for the purpose of following written policies and procedures, documentation, and communicating with others in a work setting.  Can react calmly and effectively in emergency situations. Biomedical Technologist/Technician Position Description Page 2 of 2

 Can maintain quality control standards.  Able to differentiate color schemes.

REQUIREMENTS Physical Demands  Required to stand, sit, or walk for long periods and/or solutions, interpret typed or of time. handwritten documentation, and identify  Lifting, positioning, or physically moving labels appropriately. patients.  Hearing acuity, within correctable to  Pushing patient beds and other medical normal range, to communicate effectively equipment. with others, to discern changes in patient  Frequently reaching, bending, kneeling, or conditions and to hear equipment alarms. stooping, and other range of motion activities.  Manual dexterity sufficient to manipulate  Lifting 30-50 lb. containers or boxes. medical records, equipment, and perform  Visual acuity to discern changes in other essential job functions. patient’s skin and/or blood color,  Periodically required to work long, differentiate between colors of medication continuous hours.

Mental Demands  Occasional stress from dealing with ill people.  Interpret laboratory reports of test results.

Work Habits  Regular attendance  Self-motivated  Alert and aware  Prompt  Attentive to detail  Maintains work area in a clean  Accurate  Dependable and orderly manner

Other Requirements  Maintain the confidentiality of patient, employee and PSKC information.  Comply with all PSKC and departmental policies and procedures.  Maintenance of skills must be accomplished by attendance at PSKC in-service educational offerings and approved outside continuing educational opportunities.  Responsible for adherence to employment policies and nursing care policies and practices.  Nurse is also responsible to the PSKC home dialysis patient and the patient's Nephrologists for delivery of quality nursing care, as defined by PSKC Officers, Directors, and Department Heads.  Must be able to work well with others, and should exhibit: A. A commitment to dependability. B. A consistent ability to approach work requirements in a methodical manner. C. An ability to work through periods of occasional fatigue.

EQUIPMENT USED  Hemodialysis machine  Cardiac monitor  Centrifuge  Automatic and manual  Stethoscope BP cuffs  Computer equipment  Standard office  Peritoneal dialysis equipment machine Biomedical Technologist/Technician Position Description Page 3 of 2

 IV pump  Standard office  Peritoneal dialysis  Thermometer equipment equipment

WORK ENVIRONMENT  Regularly exposed to the risk of bloodborne, respiratory and airborne diseases.  Exposure to industrial and pharmacological hazards as defined in various Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).  Contact with patients under a wide variety of circumstances; including unpredictable situations.  The work environment is a combination of a relatively quiet office and busy treatment areas.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS  Punctual arrival to work on scheduled workdays.  Coordinate, with the ADNS of Home Dialysis and Training, the nursing management of the home dialysis patients.  Identify, plan, and implement plan to meet primary patient's dialysis needs.  Initiate hemodialysis and/or peritoneal dialysis treatment to assigned patients, according to PSKC procedures, using fistula needles, central line catheters, and peritoneal dialysis catheters.  Maintain daily clinical records with accurate and legible documentation.  Educate, train, and provide instruction for home dialysis patients and their Home Helpers.  Provide primary patient teaching in the areas of: A. Fluid and electrolyte balances. B. Dietary restrictions. C. Laboratory values. D. Patient medications. E. Hemodialysis procedures. F. Peritoneal dialysis procedures.  Monitor and discontinue dialysis treatment according to PSKC procedure.  Maintain accurate and current patient treatment care plan.  Maintain accurate and current home dialysis records of assigned patients.  Identify patient problems and take corrective action.  Maintain contact with patients at home to ensure that they are receiving proper care and attention.  Provide appropriate intervention during an emergency situation.  Provide leadership and appropriate supervision to Dialysis Technicians.  Provide appropriate intervention during a hemodialysis crisis, or unusual situation with peritoneal dialysis.  Maintain accurate and current patient medication lists on assigned patients.  Attend staff meetings and patient care conferences when scheduled.  Maintain communication lines between patient and medical team. Refer patient needs to members of medical team as necessary.  Participate in orientation and training of new employees.  Provide exemplary demonstrations of job skill and technique, by sharing expertise with the trainee; encourage thorough acquisition of job skills and knowledge.

OTHER FUNCTIONS  Other duties and/or tasks that may be assigned on an as-needed basis. Biomedical Technologist/Technician Position Description Page 4 of 2

JOB RELATIONSHIPS Supervised by: Director of External Nursing Services Supervision Exercised: Dialysis Technicians and Home Helpers Promotion to: No formal line of promotion. Interpersonal Relationships: Frequent interaction with co-workers, patients, physicians and their medical office staff, and with family members.

NOTICE REQUIREMENTS: To resign this position in good standing, the Home Dialysis Nurse must give thirty (30) days notice, in writing, to the Assistant Director of Nursing Services, Home Dialysis and Training and/or the Director of Nursing Services. Employees who have successfully completed their orientation period and provided this advance notice of resignation will receive the value of any accrued Personal Time-Off (PTO).

This position description is not an employment contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter this position description at any time without notice.