INS Infusion Room

Did you know older adults have more exacerbations of chronic conditions when receiving infusion therapy than younger adults? For instance, a simple antibiotic infusion in an older adult may initiate an arthritic flare. Older adults often are unable to distinguish between an acute medication reaction, symptoms of their chronic disease, or conditional effects of aging. Are you prepared to communicat...

Each year in the Unites States, it’s estimated that more than 150 million short peripheral catheters and 600,000 midline catheters are used to administer everything from antibiotics to parenteral nutrition. Is the peripheral route the best choice for your infusion therapy patient? Indications, advantages, and disadvantages for peripheral infusion therapy are discussed.

CVAD malposition refers to the suboptimal location of the tip of the catheter. Signs and symptoms range from the sound of “gurgling” in a patient’s ear to pneumo- or hemothorax. Malposition can lead to other complications including infiltration or extravasation. In this final episode of the series, it’s all about location, location, location.

Our series continues with a look at two complications that while, infrequent, can have devastating consequences. Signs and symptoms can be nonspecific, but early recognition and prompt intervention are crucial to decrease the chances of harm to the patient.

Like many moms, her typical day starts with a personal wake-up call from her toddler daughter, tending to her infant son, taking a quick run with her dogs, then tackling the day’s to-do list. Elizabeth Smart is a typical mom with an inconceivable story. Abducted at knife point from her home in 2002 at age 14, then raped, drugged, and abused for 9 months, the story of Elizabeth Smart’s ordeal gripp...

Occlusions can affect any vascular access device at any point during the course of treatment. We’ll identify various occlusions and what can be done to manage this potentially significant complication in both peripheral and central VADs.

From insertion site infections to catheter-related blood stream infections, every patient receiving infusion therapy is at risk of this potentially serious complication. Despite ongoing prevention and awareness campaigns, infections still happen. Are you putting your patients at risk?

Infusion therapy-related phlebitis is the most common, and preventable, complication of infusion therapy. Phlebitis prevention begins with critically assessing and evaluating the therapy ordered and the patient’s vascular status. Strict adherence to established insertion policies and procedures as well as frequent assessment can greatly reduce the occurrence of this complication.

For all intents and purposes, infiltration and extravasation could be the same thing, except for one major difference. Listen in to the first episode of the series to find out why early identification of infiltration and extravasation is key to the prevention of potentially devastating complications.

In this episode, is the current shortage of saline impacting your practice? The main manufacturing facilities that supply much of small volume parenteral solutions to the United States were severely damaged when Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico in September 2017. We discuss what has been done to minimize the impact of these shortages on nurses and patients in various practice s...

No one plans on it happening to them, becoming a victim as the result of care provided to a patient. By its nature, infusion therapy carries a higher risk for serious errors that can result in patient harm. When an adverse event occurs, the nurse involved often experiences emotional distress, and becomes the “second victim”. Professors Jackie Jones and Linda Treiber discuss their research and cont...

With over 100 nursing specialty organizations across the country (and more if you count international!), there are bound to be areas where nursing practices overlap. What could infusion nurses have in common with radiology and imaging nurses? Mary Sousa, immediate past-president of ARIN introduces us to this nursing specialty. To read the show notes for this podcast, please copy the following link...

Recorded live from the 2016 INS National Academy in Cincinnati, we chat with faculty member Michael Passwater about his session, “Antibody Formation in Transfusion Therapy”. Learn more about pathophysiology of antibody formation, identification of patients at risk for antibody formation, and steps that can be taken to minimize this transfusion-related reaction. Mr. Passwater has 24 years of experi...

Join us for a chat with Britt Meyer, PhD, RN, CRNI®, VA-BC, NE-BC about her upcoming presentation on CR-BSI at the 2016 INS National Academy and learn more about the options and factors to consider for the most appropriate treatment. Britt has 31 years of infusion nursing experience and Past President of INS. She manages a vascular access team that inserts, cares for, and troubleshoots catheters f...

In this episode, we speak with Lisa Bonsall, MSN, RN, CRNP clinical educator for Lippincott NursingCenter.com. We’re all familiar with nursing care plans and the importance of this tool to improved patient outcomes. Lisa has developed a care plan for you, the nurse, to plan, implement, and evaluate not only your professional life, but your personal life as well. To read the show notes for this pod...

How important is certification in a nursing specialty today? How do you prepare for the challenge of achieving a certification? We explore these and other questions with Marvin Siegel, BS, RN, CRNI®, chair of INS’ RN Council, with a focus on the hard work that goes into crafting the CRNI® exam and what it takes for infusion nurses to prepare for it.

Infusion therapy and the skills involved are given little attention in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. We chat with Mary Walsh BS, RN, CRNI® about teaching strategies to mentor nurses new to infusion therapy. Ms. Walsh spoke on this topic at INS 2016 in Ft. Lauderdale.

We sit down with Amy Clarke,Director of Specialty Infusion Services at Diplomat for a chat about her INS 2016 presentation on best practice for filter use in infusion therapy across all practice settings.

A discussion with Kathy Duckett, BSN, RN, President of K. Duckett Consulting about hospital-at-home programs that seek to provide acute care in the home setting. Modeled after successful programs in England, Canada, and Australia, you’ll learn how these programs have the potential to significantly reduce costs and complications related to hospitalization. Ms. Duckett spoke on this topic at INS 201...

Join us for a conversation with Corinne A. Bishop, RN, CRRN, CRNI®, National Director of Infusion Nursing for Omnicare a CVS company on the evolving role of LPN and LVN in the long-term care setting. Ms. Bishop spoke on this topic at INS 2016 in Ft. Lauderdale.

An informative interview with Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN, Director of Content for Sepsis Alliance, a charitable organization committed to battling sepsis. We’ll find out about the important work they’re doing to raise sepsis awareness among both the general public and healthcare professionals. For more information about the Sepsis Alliance, visit http://www.sepsis.org.

Doc Hendley has been saving lives, one glass of wine at a time. His nonprofit, Wine to Water, has dug, repaired, and sanitized drinking wells for 25,000 people in five Third World countries—an idea that started with wine tastings and a humble donation jar. While we look forward to his keynote address at INS 2016, learn more about his amazing story by downloading our podcast with him today.

If you’ve ever thought about taking the CRNI® exam, meet Suzanne Dutta RN – and now - CRNI®. Suzanne's reason for taking the exam was simple: "Because I wanted to be one of them." but getting there was the real story. Suzanne chats with us about her journey, from her peer-influenced decision to take the exam, the intense preparation that helped her learn more about the specialty than ever before,...