Thanks partly to the new Medicare and Medicaid hospital reimbursement rules and the trend toward home health care, infusion nurses are in greater demand than ever. As hospitals focus on reducing hospital-acquired infections to comply with the new regulations, administrators will look to hire more infusion nurses.
Infusion nurses are crucial wherever infusion therapies are delivered, because their skills promote competent practice while helping to contain costs. The infusion nursing specialty is dedicated to advancing the delivery of high-quality therapy to patients and improving their outcomes. Infusion nurses are skilled in assessing patient needs, inserting and maintaining I.V. catheters, and teaching patients and their families how to care for catheters at home. Their expertise allows them to do the job right the first time, identifying potential infections and other problems and intervening quickly to avert them. They are experts in pharmacology, transfusion therapy, infection control, performance improvement, fluid and electrolyte balance, antineoplastic and biological therapy, parenteral nutrition, technology and clinical applications, and pediatrics.
The Infusion Nurses Society (INS), an ANA organizational affiliate, is an international nonprofit association recognized as the global authority in the practice of infusion therapy. INS develops and disseminates infusion nursing standards of practice; provides professional development opportunities and quality accredited continuing nursing education; encourages professional certification; and offers multimedia resources that reflect the latest advances in infusion therapy. For more information, visit http://www.ins1.org.