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Post by Chuck Weddle on Feb 2, 2022 10:57:04 GMT
***HEADS UP FOR THOSE WITH A CERTIFICATION FROM NNCO***
When the NNCO ceased operations, all certificants were notified that a deal was struck with BONENT to absorb the NNCO certificants. The deal was that everyone would do their first recertification following the NNCO criteria. That criteria is 30 contact hours and $160 recertification fee. After that recertification, BONENT criteria will be followed. Pretty straightforward and painless, right?....WRONG!
My CDWS was due for renewal 12/31/21 so, I sent my paperwork and check for $160 to BONENT on 11/16/21. My check was finally deposited on 12/22/21. I had not heard anything by 1/25/22 so I called the BONENT office. I was told that my recertification was approved and was being entered into the system that week. I received my documents 2 days later. Now, things really take a turn south.......
The documents stated the BONENT recertification criteria for the next renewal cycle. BONENT doesn't have a "recertification fee" like NNCO. Instead, they have a $60 annual certification fee or a lump fee of $210 payed the first year. This didn't sound right to me since I just payed $160 that would have covered me for 3 years with NNCO and now I still have to pay an additional $240 to maintain my certification. I emailed BONENT for clarification. Bad news is....I didn't misunderstand the document! NNCO certificants have to pay $160 more than BONENT certificants.
NNCO certificants are being screwed!
I was on the NNCO Board of Directors when this deal was struck with BONENT. I assure you, this was never intended or implied by the NNCO. It was seen and presented as a win/win for everyone. NNCO certificants would have a seamless method of maintaining their certification without retesting. BONENT would benefit by getting a sizable increase in membership which equates to increased revenue.
I am contacting the other BOD members to make them aware of this and to see if there is a way to get a fair resolution.
I will pin this at the top of the list for a while and keep everyone informed as I get more information.
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Post by MN Biomed on Feb 8, 2022 17:15:35 GMT
I should make a note also, that with BONENT, there are NO Biomed study guides. The test (I took in Apr21) was exceptionally complex and covered obsolete or obscure standards, and some items on the test had no relevance to being a Biomed (such as removing trash or recycling soda cans). Having had a CBET since 2010, I thought the test was very fishy, as many of the questions you can't study for if you don't know where or how to study the material. It's not listed on the website (as of JAN22) what specific standards are required knowledge for the test (Such as NFPA99 '21, NFPA70 NEC, specific AAMI Standards, etc). I liked the NNCO study guide... and was ready for the test before NNCO went away.
Is there a better Biomed Cert for Dialysis that exists other than BONENT? Needless to say, I'm disappointed with Bonent also.
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Post by Chuck Weddle on Feb 11, 2022 15:25:23 GMT
***UPDATE*** So far, it's not good news. BONENT says that the $160 recertification fee is their compensation for taking over and "maintaining" the certifications until they are assimilated into BONENT. They claim that they are following the agreement. As a member of the NNCO Board of Directors I can assure you that this was not my understanding nor was it the VP's either. In my conversation with BONENT's Executive Director he stated that "No one else has complained". Please contact them and "complain"! Our conversation ended with him saying he didn't think it will make a difference but that he will talk to BONENT's President and that it will "take some time". |
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eric
Junior Member
Posts: 50
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Post by eric on May 9, 2022 18:23:54 GMT
any updates on this sir? i am looking at taking the chbt but i am not a good test taker and there being no study guides and apparently junk questions im not sure that i should waste my time and money since it is not required in my state.
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Post by Chuck Weddle on May 9, 2022 18:47:59 GMT
any updates on this sir? i am looking at taking the chbt but i am not a good test taker and there being no study guides and apparently junk questions im not sure that i should waste my time and money since it is not required in my state. My apologies, I thought I had updated this.... Its a lost cause. BONENT is being money hungry and probably went into this deal with $$ in their eyes. Again, from being a board member I know for certain that this is not the way the NNCO thought this was going to be! Chuck |
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Post by dave74 on May 11, 2022 0:07:17 GMT
Do you have any information on the percentage of techs working as dialysis BioMeds, or whatever title you prefer, have taken a national certification test? Do any of the major chains compensate certified BioMeds with a higher salary or opportunities for promotion?
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Post by Chuck Weddle on May 11, 2022 10:24:46 GMT
Do you have any information on the percentage of techs working as dialysis BioMeds, or whatever title you prefer, have taken a national certification test? Do any of the major chains compensate certified BioMeds with a higher salary or opportunities for promotion? I don't think I have ever heard any numbers regarding how many of us have a certification. I do believe I remember hearing that we are outnumbered by PCT's like 20:1 though I suspect it's even higher. I haven't heard of people getting a raise with certification but I would think that if you are it's a big feather in your cap if you are applying for a promotion. I'll make a poll on here and we can see what our group numbers say. |
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Post by krutech on Aug 5, 2022 11:51:49 GMT
any updates on this sir? i am looking at taking the chbt but i am not a good test taker and there being no study guides and apparently junk questions im not sure that i should waste my time and money since it is not required in my state. My apologies, I thought I had updated this.... Its a lost cause. BONENT is being money hungry and probably went into this deal with $$ in their eyes. Again, from being a board member I know for certain that this is not the way the NNCO thought this was going to be! Chuck Hi Chuck, I also contacted Bonent about this, I paid my $160 recert fee with NNCO last 2021 then next year I got a $60 membership due from Bonent. They just said now you have to pay Bonent membership fees. |
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Post by Tghost on Sept 13, 2022 17:50:18 GMT
Does anyone have the Nant pdf: Water Treatment for Dialysis
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Post by Chuck Weddle on Sept 13, 2022 18:04:00 GMT
Does anyone have the Nant pdf: Water Treatment for Dialysis As far as I know it isn't available in pdf for just this reason. Unless Admin over rules me, the sharing of this and other copyrighted materials such as Service Manuals will not be allowed. |
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Post by jaretac on Sept 18, 2022 2:09:05 GMT
I'm curious about the Water certification from Bonnet. Anyone take it? Any tips for studying it?
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Post by Chuck Weddle on Sept 18, 2022 9:53:24 GMT
I'm curious about the Water certification from Bonnet. Anyone take it? Any tips for studying it? I took the CDWS that BONENT "converted" to CHWS but I would imagine the exams are pretty similar. Honestly, I didn't study anything at all...I figured that if I didn't know something after doing this for 40 years, reading it again wasn't going to help me. I would suggest AAMI RD52, RD62, 23500, NANT Water Treatment for Dialysis, and the CMS Guidelines. Also even though it's no longer done in the US, read anything you can find about reuse. Be prepared for questions that may not be worded in a way you are used to hearing. When the exams are made, they have to be certified to meet certain criteria and reading level and can result in "bad" questions. A prime example that was on my exam and I have no idea if I guessed right or not... How often must dialysis equipment be cleansed? The choices were Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annually. Are they asking about the external surfaces of the dialysis machine, dialysis machine disinfection, RO membrane High/Low pH cleaning, Water system disinfection? |
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joey
Full Member
Posts: 186
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Post by joey on Sept 19, 2022 12:38:23 GMT
I'm curious about the Water certification from Bonnet. Anyone take it? Any tips for studying it? I took the CDWS that BONENT "converted" to CHWS but I would imagine the exams are pretty similar. Honestly, I didn't study anything at all...I figured that if I didn't know something after doing this for 40 years, reading it again wasn't going to help me. I would suggest AAMI RD52, RD62, 23500, NANT Water Treatment for Dialysis, and the CMS Guidelines. Also even though it's no longer done in the US, read anything you can find about reuse. Be prepared for questions that may not be worded in a way you are used to hearing. When the exams are made, they have to be certified to meet certain criteria and reading level and can result in "bad" questions. A prime example that was on my exam and I have no idea if I guessed right or not... How often must dialysis equipment be cleansed? The choices were Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annually. Are they asking about the external surfaces of the dialysis machine, dialysis machine disinfection, RO membrane High/Low pH cleaning, Water system disinfection? What did you guess? |
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Post by Chuck Weddle on Sept 19, 2022 14:35:35 GMT
My thinking was that since its a water exam the question was probably about the Water System. Membrane cleaning is by manufacturer recommendation so I guessed monthly for disinfecting bthe water system.
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