National IV Nurse Day recognizes the accomplishments and the importance of Infusion Nurses, and the Infusion Nurses Society.
It’s About Us. It’s About Infusion.
An IV nurse, or certified infusion nurse, specializes in intravenous (IV) therapy. An IV nurse has an RN license and usually has a formal infusion certification through a CNRI (certified registered nurse infusion) program as well.
While infusion nurses can specialize in different types of medicine, such as oncology, they will often perform:
- Blood transfusions
- Chemotherapy infusions
- Antibiotic infusions
- Steroid infusions
- Electrolyte infusions
- Vitamin infusions
In addition, infusion nurses perform a number of other tasks, including but not limited to:
- Inserting and maintaining PICCs
- Inserting intravenous access
- Reviewing lab values and drug information prior to administering care
- Monitoring a patient’s response to treatment, including monitoring for infections
- Developing patient care plans
- Performing patient care and patient assessments
The Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital (MFSH) Infusion Clinic and the Spindrift Infusion Clinic are outpatient clinics that offer a wide array of infusions for patients in need, including chemotherapy and non-chemotherapy infusions. The new Kaleida Health Cancer Care Infusion Center is now open to patients at Buffalo General Medical Center and provides much-needed access to chemotherapy treatments in downtown Buffalo in a comfortable, patient-first setting. The nursing staff at these facilities provides a caring, nurturing environment for patient care as well as being compassionate and empathetic towards the physical and emotional needs of the patients and family.
Celebrating IV Nurse Day gives us an opportunity to recognize the evolution of the specialty and the significant contributions that infusion nurses make in our patients' lives.