Continuing Education for Dialysis Technicians
Dialysis technicians operate dialysis machines to care for people with chronic kidney disease whose blood would otherwise become contaminated without functioning kidneys. Dialysis technicians work under the supervision of nurses, but they are also required to be certified. Certification programs require continuing education so the dialysis technician keeps up with any changes in the profession that may affect patients.
Certification to operate a dialysis machine may be obtained from the Board of Nephrology Examiners Nursing and Technology, or BONENT, which offers a "Certified Hemodialysis Technician" credential. The Nephrology Nursing Certificate Commission offers a "Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician" credential, and the National Nephrology Certification Organization offers a "Clinical Nephrology Technology" credential. Any of these certifications would qualify you to work as a dialysis technician, but you will also have to meet continuing education requirements. BONENT requires 40 contact hours of continuing education every four years, of which at least 25 must be from nephrology programs approved by BONENT. Applicants for re-certification without the required contact hours can receive a one-time waiver or retake the examination instead.
Continuing Education Courses
To be re-certified by BONENT requires 25 contact hours of continuing education through an in-person seminar or interactive webinar on BONENT'S approved list. You may also be able to find continuing education courses in dialysis through the Internet. An organization called FMQAI Information for Healthcare Improvement offers several continuing education classes in this topic, including courses on how to control infections during dialysis treatment, water treatment in dialysis, reducing conflict between dialysis patients and healthcare providers, continuous quality improvement concepts, dialysis facility management, discharge planning for chronic kidney disease, kidney transplants, ethics and boundaries, and how to prepare for emergency or disaster situations. BONENT allows applicants to obtain up to 15 of the required contact hours through online classes such as these.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly known as the CDC, offers an online continuing education course called Infection Prevention in Dialysis Settings. The course is taught by members of the CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, and it teaches three methods for preventing infections caused by catheters, as well as proper hand hygiene procedures and ways to transport medicine so as to protect the patient from infection. The course is worth one contact hour of continuing education credit.
Becoming a Dialysis Technician
Medical technicians such a dialysis technicians earn a median pay of $46,680 as of 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job requires a high school diploma or GED plus training as a dialysis technician. Check your local college extension programs or community colleges for dialysis technician training. For example, the College of DuPage offers a 350-hour dialysis technician training course that qualifies you to test for any of the three national certifications as a dialysis technician.
- Chippewa Valley Technical College: Renal Dialysis Technician
- College of DuPage Hemodialysis Fact Sheet
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Continuing Education Course
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
- College of DuPage: Hemodialysis
- BONENT: Recertification
Scott Thompson has been writing professionally since 1990, beginning with the "Pequawket Valley News." He is the author of nine published books on topics such as history, martial arts, poetry and fantasy fiction. His work has also appeared in "Talebones" magazine and the "Strange Pleasures" anthology.