A dialysis technician career has several factors that make it a very attractive option for anyone who’s just graduating from high school or who has been out in the labor force for years and is looking for a change. For one thing, job growth in this medical career field is expected to be well above average because of two huge trends in America, which we’ll discuss in a moment. Another important factor is that kidney dialysis is critical for those people who need it. It can’t be put off or ignored, as some other less critical health concerns tend to be when the economy is less than robust. Still another factor that makes a dialysis technician career a great choice is that the training required is very short and can often be completed in just a few months.

Kidney dialysis is a medical procedure for people who suffer from renal failure and related kidney problems. The kidneys, of course, are vital to our well-being, as they maintain the proper ratio of water and minerals in the body and secrete waste products through the urinary tract. A person who has lost these functions because of kidney problems would die very rapidly without the miracle of dialysis machines. During dialysis, patients are connected to a machine and their blood is pumped through it and filtered in a manner that approximates the function of the kidneys. This has to be done at least several times a week and, for many patients, ideally should be done daily. Treatment usually takes place at a dialysis clinic, but more and more patients are receiving treatments at home. It’s the dialysis technician’s job to assist the patients in getting hooked up to the machine, making sure it’s operating correctly, and monitoring both patient and machine during the procedure.

As stated earlier, job growth in the dialysis technician career field is expected to be very high in coming years and probably for the next several decades. That’s because of two very large trends in America; one of these is unstoppable, and the other one, while it could theoretically slow down, shows no sign of doing so. The first trend is the aging of the baby-boom generation. As the people born in the late 1940s through the late 1950s become senior citizens, their health will start deteriorating. Elderly patients make up a large percentage of dialysis patients, so the more elderly there are in America, the more need there will be for dialysis tecercentage of dialysis patients, so the more elderly there are in America, the more need there will be for dialysis technicians. The second trend is unfortunate, but very real: the obesity crisis that is overtaking America. People who are seriously overweight are at huge risk for diabetes, and kidney failure is common among diabetics. Experts are predicting an explosive epidemic of diabetes in the near future based on current obesity statistics. Unless public health professionals find some way of reversing the obesity trend, the number of dialysis patients could skyrocket in just a few years.
It doesn’t take years of education to get into a dialysis technician career. Most training courses take six to eight weeks to complete and are relatively inexpensive. In fact, in some cases, it won’t be necessary to go to school at all. Some kidney dialysis clinics hire people with no training or experience in the field and then train them on the job, in return for a promise to work a certain number of years. While this approach is less popular than in the past, it’s certainly something to consider for those who don’t live near a school that offers the training. In order to be certified to work as a dialysis technician, a person will also need to pass the Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician Exam. Salaries are currently in the range of $28,000 to $35,000 a year, which is excellent pay considering the short training time. These figures should go higher, too, as the need for dialysis technicians increases rapidly due to health trends. All in all, it’s an ideal time to embark on a dialysis technician career.