What does an Infusion Nurse do, and how can I become one?
Today, we’re talking about infusion nurses. What are infusion nurses job? According to nurse.org, an infusion nurse is a Registered Nurse (RN) that specializes in the administration of intravenous (or IV) medications and therapies and the insertion of intravenous devices.
The duties of an infusion nurse include, but are not limited to, the following:
Administer medications, vitamins and fluid therapy, monitor patients IVs and support with developing care and treatment plans
Prioritize the prevention and control of infections, as well as inserting and maintaining needles and/or Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICC).
Perform transfusions of various types, including: blood, chemotherapy, antibiotics, steroids, electrolytes and vitamins.
While it sounds similar to what an anesthesiologist does on the surface, it’s important to note that they are not the same and that there is a distinction! For one, anesthesiologists deal with sedation and ensuring that patients are asleep for procedures and medical stays. Because of this, anesthesiologists require a whole different set of certifications just like an infusion nurse would.
An advantage to being an infusion nurse is the ability to work in a variety of different locations and medical settings. The flexibility is definitely a perk if you’re a nurse (or potential nurse) who enjoys variety and having options!
If this sounds like a career that’s right for you, here are the steps to becoming one! The good news is that 1 & 2 should come as no surprise as they are the first requirements for nurses of any kind:
Attend - and graduate - from a nursing school.
Study for - and pass - the NCLEX!
At NurseDeck we have tons of tips, articles and resources on these topics so definitely check those out if you need some guidance! Once these first two steps are done, you can move on to the heavy hitting - infusion specific - work as follows:
Gain Bedside Experience
If the bedside is not your thing or you want to break up with the bedside, this is not the job for you! As the job duties indicate, infusion nurses and the bedside go hand in hand. It’s strongly encouraged that you have a few years of polishing your bedside manners, as the skills you gain are extremely valuable to start administering IVs and other intravenous therapies.
In addition to your bedside skills, any hands-on experience that you can get with IVs will take you very far. The good news is that you can build your IV skills in a number of different departments and divisions including pediatrics, oncology, emergency rooms, ICUs and surgical units. Express interest to your peers and management early on and try to work in these settings as much as possible!
Earn Your Certification
To finish things off, infusion nurses are required to get a certification known as the CRNI, or Certified Registered Nurse Infusion, certification. The requirements to take this certification are:
A registered nurse (RN) license in the United States that is current, active and non-restricted.
1,600 hours (9-10 weeks, more or less) of experience in infusion therapy as an RN within a 2 year time frame. Note: this is not necessarily required to be strictly bedside, as education, administration, research or clinical practice all count as experience.
For more information, visit The Infusion Nurses Society’s website. The INS also administers the certification you need!
As the need for nurses of all kinds grows, infusion nursing can be a lucrative and worthwhile nursing career. This is especially true with the longer lifespan of today’s population. Additionally, we mentioned that a big benefit to infusion nursing is flexibility and variety - which lead to this type of nursing being sought after!
Infusion nurses can administer treatment in many locations such as: the comfort of a patient’s home, medical spas, nursing homes, private practice, oncology facilities, specialized clinics and hospitals, and so much more.
We hope that this guide helped you learn more about infusion nursing and gave you a starting point to pursue this field! Be sure to check out our page for more information and resources, we’d love to have you as part of our growing NurseDeck community that is for nurses, by nurses.