Acute care nurses' perceptions of hemodialysis patients

The purpose of the study was to determine how medical-surgical nurses in an urban community hospital view end stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis and to identify factors that influence these perceptions. Data were collected by a single, semistructured interview. Nurses described the care of dialysis patients as being difficult and identified special problems they encountered when caring for these patients. These findings have major implications for nephrology nursing practice.