- Hemodialysis technician.Doctor image by Monika 3 Steps Ahead from Fotolia.com
Hemodialysis is a process that removes waste and excess water and other fluids from the kidney when it is suffering from renal failure. Needles will be inserted into the vein to draw the fluid out. This is done by hemodialysis technicians. There are many duties that a hemodialysis technician must perform. - The first duty that a hemodialysis technician has is to do is prepare the procedure. There are many duties involved in preparing the procedure. They start by positioning the patient for the procedure. They make sure that the patient is comfortable and in the correct position. The position will vary depending on the patient, as different patients have different insertion areas. The technician may have to give the patient pillows to support areas of their body for comfort. After the patient is comfortable, they then explain the procedure and equipment to the patience and answer questions. After answering all questions, they record the patient's vital signs to make sure their breathing and heart rate is normal. They then clean the insertion area with antiseptic materials, such as rubbing alcohol. This helps to guard against possible infection.
- After they sterilizing the insertion area, hemodialysis technician must begin the procedure. The first duty will be to carefully insert the needle. The needle placement varies from the leg to the chest and neck. This is the most delicate procedure for the technician and the one that much of their training will focus on perfecting. After they have inserted the needle, they will connect the dialysis machine to the needle and tape the needle down to the body and machine to avoid excess movement. They then inspect the equipment settings to make sure that everything is set properly. The hemodialysis technician wants to avoid excess pressure and temperature in order to keep the patient safe from any bruising or potential injury. They then start the machine to begin the procedure.
- Hemodiaylsis technicians must monitor the patient and the machine during the procedure. They carefully watch the patient for any adverse reactions. This can include pain at the insertion site, bruising, fluid buildup, nausea or many others. This requires monitoring the artery pressures on the equipment to ensure that it doesn't get too high. The technician must be present during every step of the procedure to personally insure the patient is in no pain and comfortable. They must also monitor the equipment during the procedure. They must make sure that the machines are operating properly and must fix any malfunctions. They must also clean and sterilize the machines after the procedure. They must help the patient up after the procedure and ensure that they will safely make it out of the hospital. They may give them fluids to help replace the removed blood.
