I am back from the INS 2011 meeting in Louisville and although it was exhausting, one can’t say they didn’t learn anything, The week was packed with educational sessions that focused on may different core aspects of infusion nursing. The exhibit hall was packed with vendors and manufacturers eager to showcase their latest and greatest…
Hi y’all!! A two hour drive south on I 65 takes me to downtown Louisville, KY for the 2011 INS (Infusion Nurses Society) Annual Convention and Industrial Exhibition. I am so excited to be here and always looking forward to meeting up with old and new colleagues.The weekend session just concluded and it is going…
Last February 2010, I wrote a blog when I observed some nurses re-using syringes. I couldn’t believe that a nurse would actually re-use a syringe but it happened and I was there to see it. Here’s my blog post in case you missed it…“Single Use Only” I wanted to believe that it was an isolated…
I can’t believe I totally missed it… the start of “Break Cancer” WordPress World Record to mark the beginning of National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week!!! Sadly I did…but as the saying goes…better late than never. 🙂 It’s hard to think that adolescents and young adults (AYA), ages 15 to 39, are diagnosed with cancer.…
The long awaited update to the 2002 CDC Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter -Related Infections was released today April 1 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). The 2011 guidelines outline steps to eliminate bloodstream infections in patients with intravenous catheters, which…
Anything with the letters…”IV” catches my attention immediately then I’m all over the article/topic or whatever the letters are attached to. More so when the word…”CONTAMINATED” appears before it. CONTAMINATED IVs…ugh, not something an infusion nurse want to see or hear at anytime. My heart broke when I saw the news about the 9 patient…
When was the last time you have counted the drops on your patient’s IV? Thanks to the marvels of infusion pump technology, for many of us, it may have been a while and to some of our new colleagues, perhaps none of them have actually counted drops. Why bother with such unimportant matter? Is it…
Are you a certified nurse? It’s a day to recognize you and other board certified nurses in many nursing specialties. Congratulations! Certification is a profession’s official recognition of achievement, expertise, and clinical judgment. It is a mark of excellence that requires continued learning and skill development to maintain. I have been a “CRNI” – certified registered…
Several new treatment options for chronic illnesses have received FDA approval in the last few months. Among them are two biologic agents administered intravenously for chronic refractory gout in adults (September 2010) and the other is for Lupus, a serious autoimmune disorder (March 2011). Krystexxa (pegloticase) has been approved by the FDA for patients with…
Nurses know that phlebitis is the inflammation of the vein and is considered an adverse patient outcome. Vascular access sites should be routinely assessed for signs and symptoms of phlebitis , as well as the severity of phlebitis. According to the Infusion Nurses Society(INS) Standards of Practice, a standardized scale that is valid, reliable, and…
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