You may be asking yourself, “What is a dialysis technician?” as you search through the vast supply of healthcare careers. That is a great question, as different medical careers require enormously different tasks and skills.

Dialysis technicians provide a life-saving service to patients who need dialysis. These patients are suffering from kidney failure, and their kidneys can no longer function in the way your body needs. Dialysis treatment removes waste, salt, and extra water from the patient’s body, balances needed chemicals in blood, and helps control blood pressure. As you can see, dialysis technicians are one of the extremely needed healthcare careers.

Some of the key topics covered in a Dialysis Technician program are:

• Specific procedures to operate kidney dialysis machines
• Preparation of the dialyzer, and reprocessing and delivery system
• Equipment maintenance
•  Skills to monitor and record a patient’s vital signs
• The process for a dialysis teams’ administration of local anesthetics and drugs as needed
• Assessment of patients for any complications that occur during a procedure
• Patient training for at-home dialysis treatment and techniques to provide emotional support patients need for self-care

Offices that have dialysis technician jobs are continuing to seek out highly skilled workers as the healthcare industry continues to grow. The technicians provide a service of healing and hope to patients and their families.