Implementing a Student Nurse Rotation in a Free-Standing Dialysis Unit

The lack of nephrology nurses in the present workforce and projected for the future workforce has been documented in the literature. Contributing to this crisis is the near absence of clinical rotations for nursing students in a dialysis unit. In an effort to address the staffing need, the author created, marketed, and negotiated a dialysis curriculum for BSN students at a school of nursing where the author became the faculty for the rotation. Components of the experience consisted of lecture, patient interview, and written report of the clinical findings. In the two years since the creation of the dialysis rotation, the reception from students and dialysis unit staff has been overwhelmingly positive, and has exposed nursing students to nephrology and the benefits of a student membership in the American Nephrology Nurses Association.