After a short training period, most people can perform both types of peritoneal dialysis on their own. You will work with a dialysis nurse for 1 to 2 weeks to learn how to

• do manual exchanges for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis without letting bacteria into your catheter
• perform automated peritoneal dialysis:

1. prepare the cycler
2. connect the bags of dialysis solution
3. place the drain tube

People who do automated peritoneal dialysis need to learn how to do manual exchanges so they can get treatment in case of power failure or if they need an exchange during the day in addition to nighttime automated peritoneal dialysis.