eric
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Post by eric on Jan 22, 2024 19:26:54 GMT
Good day all,
I am wondering how many of you have taken the Level II training for Fresenius and if it was worthwhile?
I had the Level I in March 2008 and have had no additional training since. I have looked into the level II class but don't want to waste my time or money for something with low return, especially with the cost of the class jumping to 2500 dollars after Jan. 1, 2024.
Thank you in advance for your feedback and suggestions.
Eric
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joey
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Post by joey on Jan 25, 2024 17:45:08 GMT
Your employer is not willing to send you? You have to pay for it? Also don't you get a raise when you complete it?
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eric
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Post by eric on Jan 25, 2024 21:04:03 GMT
:-) well.......... I do think it would get paid for but i know that money is pretty tight around here these days ...... So i wanted to make sure its worth the time.....
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Post by Admin on Jan 26, 2024 12:32:37 GMT
Just remember - There isn't anyone sitting up in Finance at that company going through the books saying "Okay, $200,000 for a national sales meeting... $750,000 for the CEO's salary... $40,000 in new office equipment.... $2,500 for a training class!? WHO SPENT $2,500 FOR A TRAINING CLASS?!"
Money isn't that tight.
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joey
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Post by joey on Jan 26, 2024 13:11:25 GMT
Only thing I would say is if it is a hospital-based unit it might be tight. Any of the big dialysis companies operate well in the black and they know it's part of the job to take these training classes. If it pays you more and makes you a better tech then take it and if you ever leave you will have it under your belt for the next place.
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Post by Chuck Weddle on Jan 26, 2024 13:18:55 GMT
Just remember - There isn't anyone sitting up in Finance at that company going through the books saying "Okay, $200,000 for a national sales meeting... $750,000 for the CEO's salary... $40,000 in new office equipment.... $2,500 for a training class!? WHO SPENT $2,500 FOR A TRAINING CLASS?!" Money isn't that tight. I have no idea who eric works for but....for smaller independents it really is that tight! They don't benefit from the economy of scale, manufacture their own disposables and machines, own their own labs and pharmacy, etc.. EVERY vendor has raised prices due to inflation as well as greed (that is blamed on inflation). We are paying more than double for acid concentrate than we were paying just a year ago. Dialysis facilities have not gotten a raise in reimbursement from Medicare since I believe it was in 2011. In fact in many instances they are being penalized for not meeting arbitrary metrics that they don't even have control over. |
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Post by dave74 on Jan 26, 2024 14:46:15 GMT
I attended the Level I class and the troubleshooting class. Fresenius paid for the Level I class. My employer paid to have Fresenius come to our largest clinic for the troubleshooting class. We sent as many people as we possibly could.
The troubleshooting class was definitely worth it. My manager and I talked about it, and we agreed we rarely, if ever, troubleshoot based on an in depth understanding of how everything works. At the troubleshooting class, the Fresenius tech led us in repairing every machine our biomeds had problems with. He not only repaired them, but he explained how he was quickly able to narrow the problem down to a couple of possibilities. I thought the class was excellent.
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eric
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Post by eric on Jan 26, 2024 15:43:31 GMT
Just remember - There isn't anyone sitting up in Finance at that company going through the books saying "Okay, $200,000 for a national sales meeting... $750,000 for the CEO's salary... $40,000 in new office equipment.... $2,500 for a training class!? WHO SPENT $2,500 FOR A TRAINING CLASS?!" Money isn't that tight. I have no idea who eric works for but....for smaller independents it really is that tight! They don't benefit from the economy of scale, manufacture their own disposables and machines, own their own labs and pharmacy, etc.. EVERY vendor has raised prices due to inflation as well as greed (that is blamed on inflation). We are paying more than double for acid concentrate than we were paying just a year ago. Dialysis facilities have not gotten a raise in reimbursement from Medicare since I believe it was in 2011. In fact in many instances they are being penalized for not meeting arbitrary metrics that they don't even have control over. We are a single independent facility....... |
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eric
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Post by eric on Jan 26, 2024 15:45:25 GMT
I attended the Level I class and the troubleshooting class. Fresenius paid for the Level I class. My employer paid to have Fresenius come to our largest clinic for the troubleshooting class. We sent as many people as we possibly could. The troubleshooting class was definitely worth it. My manager and I talked about it, and we agreed we rarely, if ever, troubleshoot based on an in depth understanding of how everything works. At the troubleshooting class, the Fresenius tech led us in repairing every machine our biomeds had problems with. He not only repaired them, but he explained how he was quickly able to narrow the problem down to a couple of possibilities. I thought the class was excellent. So the Level II is different than the troubleshooting if i remember correctly. When i talked to F, they said the trouble shooting is onsite, like you said, but it is my understanding that the Level II is still at their facility in Dallas. Has anyone done the Level II? Thank you. |
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Post by dave74 on Jan 26, 2024 18:29:48 GMT
Things have changed since I took the class. Thank you for pointing that out.
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Icebonez
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What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?
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Post by Icebonez on Jan 29, 2024 13:21:03 GMT
Has anyone done the Level II? I believe you are referring to the "2008 Series Level II Dialysis System Electronics Technical Training." This class goes over electronic block diagrams and how each of the boards function/communicate. It is a nice segue into the "Troubleshooting 2008 Hemodialysis Systems Field Technical Training." The class is essentially an "Electronics 101" course focused on the 2008T machine. If you are well-versed in electronics theory/troubleshooting/repair or have already taken the 2008T Troubleshooting course, I would say it is not worth your budget being a small independent clinic. I'd never taken something high level like that before, so I found the course to be very informative and better than the troubleshooting class in some ways. |
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pacnw
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Post by pacnw on Jan 29, 2024 15:06:16 GMT
Any time you can get additional training or knowledge I'd say go for it. I've been through all of the classes and picked up information at all of them. Level I is just to get a certificate to be able to work on the machines. Not much other info in that class but level II and troubleshooting are both really informative classes. I'd say go for it.
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Post by Old Tech on Jan 30, 2024 20:51:08 GMT
I took the Fresenius level 2 class back in 2014 and it did go over the electronics but it was mostly a troubleshooting class. The teacher was the one that wrote the newest troubleshooting manual. When I did work for Fresenius back in 2006 I took there level 2 technician test and it was nothing like the level 2 class.
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Post by dave74 on Jan 30, 2024 22:17:24 GMT
I took the Level I class in 2001 when we first bought the K machines. The class was taught at Fresenius in Walnut Creek, CA. I never had so much fun and learned so much as I did at that class. The instructor was Bob H. We had a great group of biomeds. Nobody had a big ego, and everybody paid attention and worked well together.
I repeated the Level I class in Texas after we bought the K2 machines. What a difference. The instructor, Dave, was OK, but the class was too big. We had a guy with a big ego who thought he knew everything, didn't pay attention and bad mouthed various biomeds he knew. We had people with no dialysis experience at all. We had people who got hammered every night and came in with hangovers. We had about 10-12 machines in two work areas. There was every machine from the K@Home to the K2. The instructor couldn't be everywhere.
To top it off, the Fresenius travel planner had a rule that your return flight could not leave earlier than a certain time. I understand that they can't have people leaving class early to catch a flight, but there was a flight leaving for my destination 10 minutes before her deadline. She said absolutely no exceptions. I spent hours waiting for the next flight.
Sometimes the intangibles can make or break a class.
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phillipashleyludlow
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Post by phillipashleyludlow on Feb 5, 2024 16:55:06 GMT
I attended the Level I class and the troubleshooting class. Fresenius paid for the Level I class. My employer paid to have Fresenius come to our largest clinic for the troubleshooting class. We sent as many people as we possibly could. The troubleshooting class was definitely worth it. My manager and I talked about it, and we agreed we rarely, if ever, troubleshoot based on an in depth understanding of how everything works. At the troubleshooting class, the Fresenius tech led us in repairing every machine our biomeds had problems with. He not only repaired them, but he explained how he was quickly able to narrow the problem down to a couple of possibilities. I thought the class was excellent. So the Level II is different than the troubleshooting if i remember correctly. When i talked to F, they said the trouble shooting is onsite, like you said, but it is my understanding that the Level II is still at their facility in Dallas. Has anyone done the Level II? Thank you. So, im actually going to the level 2 in about a few short weeks. i work for big F, it was about 2600 for the class, 600$-ish for the hotel near corp HQ for 5 days, 4 nights, and its gonna be held in the acute/Hospital repair/ training facility they have in waltham. i went there for my level 1 about a year ago. ill let ya know how it goes, but most of the guys in my workgroup in NNY have been. it about 4 days. i have to drive cuz its only 6 hours away, but thats fine cuz id prefer to have my own car to get around anyway. |
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