In 1980, the professional practice of infusion nursing was formally recognized when the United States House of Representatives declared each January 25 as IV Nurse Day. This recognition was the beginning of what the infusion nursing specialty has become. Specialization marks the advancement of nursing practice. It signifies that nursing has moved from a global…
The answer is YOU DON’T !! Not in any circustance should nurses and any other healthcare providers re-use a disposable syringe. Disposable syringes are single use only! This seem like a no brainer, right ? Then you see news like this…(Click on the image below to read the news article ) What? Did…
This is an updated version of the 2014 publication. The current update (2016) adds 34 drugs, five of which have safe-handling recommendations from the manufacturers. Hazardous drugs include those used for cancer chemotherapy, antiviral drugs, hormones, some bioengineered drugs, and other miscellaneous drugs. This document presents criteria and sources of information for determining whether a drug is…
In case you missed it, the Infusion Nurses Society (INS) has published an updated position paper on The Role of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) in the Provision of Infusion Therapy. UAP is the common term used to describe the various assistive personnel to whom physicians, RNs, and other health care professionals may delegate patient care activities,…
Q: I am a staff nurse doing home infusion. I’ve seen an increase in new home patients requiring infusions of Remicade and Entyvio this year.I have a patient to start soon and I have found no evidence on how safe these drugs are if administered at home. They are given in a doctor’s office where…
I paused from the other side of the infusion center when I overheard a patient ask my colleague this question. After a very long pause, I heard her response. Nurse: Where did you hear that? Patient: Dr. XXX said I might get the biosimilar drug when it comes out. <long pause again> Nurse: Oh really? Ok,…
Q: I was always told back when I was a nursing student, that if you’ve just removed the flip cap from a vial, the vial rubber port is sterile and does not need to be disinfected prior to access. So I just insert the syringe to withdraw the medication. For vials already opened, I do…
Why is it that patients, as well as others who work in our industry, even doctors and nurses, think that infusion nurses do the same job as phlebotomists? Is it because both do venipunctures? Such sterotype and it’s time to stop thinking they are even remotely similar. 1. An infusion nurse (aka IV nurse) is not…
Q: We work in a single physician office based infusion clinic and we infuse drugs for rheumatoid arthritis by gravity, not by pump, because pumps are expensive. Me and the other nurse think dial-a flow tubing will be useful especially on a busy infusion day. What do you think? A: Dial-a-flo devices are designed to…
According to the National Health Statistics, in 2007 the total number of physician office visits approached one billion. I know that number is so 2007, but imagine how many that would be now that 2014 is almost over. Many of us have visited a physician’s office at least once if not more this year and will…
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