Infusion nurses play an important part in the medication of the patients as well as other procedures. Having an infusion nurse perform the necessary procedures can make the patient’s condition better and give a positive effect on the patient’s recovery. If you are a nurse and planning to become an infusion nurse then check on the requirements and check on infusion nurse jobs from Giftted Healthcare. Learning more about what infusion nurses do can also come in handy.
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What does infusion mean in nursing?
Infusion is defined as putting fluids in the bloodstream which includes drugs. Infusion in nursing is related to nurses who administer medicine to the bloodstream by intravenous method to be able to place the medication in the body.
What do infusion nurses do?
Performs any form of infusions
An infusion nurse, their duty includes anything that does with an infusion which includes electrolyte infusions, blood transfusions, antibiotic infusions, steroid infusions, chemotherapy infusions, and vitamin infusions. All these methods are needed by the patient to give a better effect on their conditions.
Do Fluid therapy, and care plans, and administer medications
Infusion nurses are responsible for administering fluid therapy to patients since they have the skill and knowledge on how to do them. They have to know the accurate dosage and proper way to where and how the medication should be administered. Contributing to care plans is also their duty since the medical team should work together to attain the progress they want to see in a patient.
Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICC) insertion and maintenance
Proper insertion and maintenance should be done by infusion nurses only since they are the ones trained and skilled to do so.
Dressing changes on PICCs, midlines, and central lines
Almost all patients admitted to the hospital get midlines or central lines, and infusion nurses are the ones putting the lines to the patient so they can administer the right medicine to the patient’s body through the midlines or central lines or direct to the bloodstream. Skills and knowledge are needed to make sure that the PICCs are inserted in the right vein.
Monitors Patient’s response to the treatment
As they administer medication, it is also part of their duties to monitor the response of their patients to the medication given. So they can report the effects whether positive or negative to their medical team and head. This way they can make some changes or continue whichever is better for the patient.
What are the skills and knowledge required to work as an infusion nurse?
Knowledge on Pharmacology
Infusion nurses should have knowledge of pharmacology since they are involved in administering medicines which means they have to be aware of the right dosage and right medication that is needed by the patient they are handling.
Skills in Laboratory test
Patients need a procedure to know if they need more medications or if their conditions have improved. An infuse nurse must collect blood or other body fluid samples for laboratory tests, therefore they should have the right skill in preparing, the proper collection of samples and laboratory procedures so they can execute their duties well.
Steady hands
Infusion nurses should have steady hands to be able to perform an efficient procedure. For instance, collecting blood will be difficult to collect of nurses who have shaky hands same as insertion of PICCs, infusion nurses should be excellent in performing this duty since it can affect their reputation as well as the condition of the patient.
Long patience
As infusion nurse having long patience is important since the duties they will be performing requires patience and waiting time. They have to be patient in handling patients who may fail to cooperate when procedures are done and in other situations where they have to practice patients in order to attain the needed samples from their patients.
Is it hard to be an infusion nurse?
Infusion nurse needs in-depth training to perfect the skills needed to become certified infusion nurse. They will be encountering challenging or complicated IV treatment regimens, that’s why they need intense training so they can perform their duties well.
Becoming an infusion nurse can be challenging but rewarding, so now that you know what infusion nurses do better evaluate yourself before becoming one.