Dialysis Nurse Resume Example & Guide (2026)
Dialysis recruiters hire for a specific mix: machine competency, vascular access skill, and the judgment to manage fluid shifts in fragile patients — often at a 1:4 nurse-to-patient load across a 12–20 chair unit. Your resume should say which setting you worked (in-center hemodialysis, acute inpatient, home hemo, peritoneal) because each has its own workflow, and recruiters filter hard on it.
Quantify what dialysis managers actually track: treatments per shift, AV fistula cannulation volume, catheter infection rates, Kt/V adequacy targets met, intradialytic hypotension events managed. CDN (Certified Dialysis Nurse) signals committed nephrology experience, and machine names — Fresenius 2008T, Tablo — tell a recruiter you can be productive quickly. The example below follows the ATS-friendly structure clinic and hospital systems parse cleanly; swap in your own honest numbers.
Dialysis nurse resume example
Rendered with the same engine that builds your PDF — fictional nurse, real structure.
Linh Truong, BSN, RN, CDN
Professional Summary
Dialysis nurse with 5 years across in-center hemodialysis and acute inpatient treatments. CDN-certified with 3,000+ treatments delivered, a 96% first-stick fistula cannulation rate, and charge experience running a 16-chair unit with 4 patient care technicians.
Licenses & Certifications
- RN License, IL — Exp. 04/2032
- CDN (NNCC) — Exp. 06/2032
- ACLS (American Heart Association) — Exp. 09/2031
- BLS (American Heart Association) — Exp. 09/2031
Clinical Experience
- Run charge for a 16-chair unit across 3 daily shifts, supervising 4 patient care technicians and delivering 30+ treatments per day to a 90-patient census.
- Cannulate 25+ AV fistulas and grafts weekly with a 96% first-stick success rate, including buttonhole and rope-ladder techniques.
- Manage intradialytic events — hypotension, cramping, access complications — completing 94% of treatments to prescribed fluid-removal goals in 2025.
- Led catheter-reduction push with the vascular access coordinator, cutting CVC prevalence from 18% to 11% of census in 14 months.
- Delivered 1:1 bedside hemodialysis to ICU and med-surg patients, averaging 3–4 acute treatments per shift including emergent hyperkalemia runs.
- Performed sterile CVC dressing changes and site care with zero catheter-related bloodstream infections attributed to dialysis across 2 audited years.
- Coordinated daily with nephrology and ICU teams on ultrafiltration goals for hemodynamically unstable patients.
Education
Skills
Clinical: AV fistula & graft cannulation, Fluid & electrolyte management, CVC care & catheter reduction, Intradialytic event management, Kt/V adequacy monitoring, Renal diet & access education, Charge nurse leadership
Technical: Fresenius 2008T, NxStage System One, Epic, eCC clinical charting
Additional
- Organization: American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA), member since 2022
- Language: Vietnamese — conversational proficiency
Dialysis skills & keywords ATS scans for
Applicant tracking systems match on exact terms. Use the ones you genuinely have — in your skills section and inside your bullets.
- Hemodialysis
- AV fistula cannulation
- CDN
- Fluid management
- Kt/V adequacy
- Central venous catheter care
- Intradialytic hypotension
- Fresenius 2008T
- Peritoneal dialysis
- Patient education
How to write a Dialysis Nurse resume
- 01
Name your setting first — in-center hemo, acute/inpatient, home therapies, PD — because staffing models differ and recruiters screen for direct setting experience.
- 02
Quantify cannulation: sticks per week and success rate on fistulas and grafts is the single most persuasive dialysis-specific metric.
- 03
Show fluid-management judgment in a bullet — intradialytic hypotension events managed, treatments completed to prescribed goal, holds escalated to nephrology.
- 04
List the machines you run (Fresenius 2008T, NxStage, Tablo) under technical skills; machine familiarity shortens orientation and managers know it.
- 05
Add CDN or CNN if you hold it, and note water-quality or charge duties — clinics value nurses who can cover technical and leadership gaps.
FAQ
What is the difference between acute and chronic dialysis experience?
Chronic (in-center) means scheduled outpatient treatments, high volume, and long-term relationships — typically 1:4 with techs supporting. Acute means hospital bedside treatments on unstable patients, often 1:1, including CRRT crossover in some programs. They are hired separately, so label your experience precisely and quantify the volume for each.
Is CDN worth getting for a dialysis resume?
Yes — CDN (from NNCC) requires 2,000+ hours of nephrology nursing experience and marks you as committed to the specialty rather than passing through. Many dialysis organizations tie certification to pay differentials, and for charge or educator tracks it is often the differentiator between comparable resumes.
How do I get into dialysis with no nephrology experience?
Large dialysis organizations regularly hire med-surg, telemetry, and even new-grad nurses into paid 9–12 week training programs. On your resume, emphasize what transfers: fluid and electrolyte management, medication administration, catheter care, and patient education. State in your target-role line that you are seeking dialysis specifically — generic resumes read as accidental applications.
Should I include machine names on my resume?
Absolutely. 'Fresenius 2008T' or 'Tablo' in your technical skills tells a hiring manager exactly how much orientation you need, and ATS keyword scans frequently include machine names. Only list machines you have independently set up, strung, and run — machine claims get verified fast in a skills check-off.