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Excerpt from the Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice:
Philosophy

Nursing is an art, science, and discipline based on the natural, behavioral, and social sciences. Nursing is an independent, autonomous, and self-regulating profession whose primary responsibility is to help the individual and community achieve the highest level of health. The scope of practice for nurses is defined by state Nurse Practice Acts. Nursing involves the promotion of health, prevention of illness, assistance in the cure of disease, and provision of support to the dying patient. Nurses use a holistic approach to assess the individual’s healthcare status, develop and implement nursing interventions that will assure continuity of care, and evaluate patient outcomes. Nurses should strive to provide quality and individualized care to each patient.

Nurses have established professional associations to perform functions that they cannot accomplish as individuals and to establish criteria for professional competency. Consequently, a professional association must, by nature, provide criteria that constitute a standard for the competency of its practitioners and evaluate the quality of the profession’s service. Standards of practice enable those outside of a profession to measure a practitioner’s performance; thus, standards protect both patients and practitioners. The most important function that a professional society can perform is to establish, maintain, and improve its standards of practice.

The mission of the Infusion Nurses Society (INS) is to promote excellence in infusion nursing through standards, education, advocacy, and outcomes research to ensure the highest quality, cost-effective care for all individuals requiring infusion therapies. The Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice, developed by a committee of registered nurses (RNs) who are certified in infusion nursing (i.e., CRNI®s), define nursing accountability criteria and provide a framework within which to evaluate patient outcomes. These Standards systematically direct the specialty practice of infusion therapy and establish guidelines for competency. Organizations must develop policies and procedures congruent with the Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice and adopt minimal educational requirements for the practice of infusion therapy.

INS has established the scope of practice, competencies, and educational requirements for the administration of infusion therapy and has set forth the Standards of Practice. The care and safety of the patients receiving infusion therapy is the highest priority of INS. The Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice provide educational, experiential, and technical criteria for establishing levels of practice within the specialty practice of infusion therapy.

INS believes that the profession itself must seek control of its practice to assure the quality of its services to the public. A profession’s concern for quality services reflects its commitment to serving the community. This commitment requires nurses to act consistently and responsibly as patient advocates to ensure that the best interests of the patient are met. A profession that serves and protects the community is held in esteem and valued by society.

The Evolving Practice of Infusion Therapy

INS believes that infusion nurse specialists should be involved wherever infusion therapies are delivered, because they have the skill and expertise to ensure competent practice as well as contain costs. High-quality care results in desired patient outcomes and decreased morbidity and mortality associated with infusion therapy. Because of the likelihood of positive patient outcomes, several of the most prominent healthcare-related government agencies support the use of infusion nurse specialists.

Professional nursing certification is a voluntary process that warrants additional knowledge, experience, competence, and career commitment far above a license’s minimum level. National nursing certification ensures that the community is provided with competent practitioners by validating the competency of practicing nurses and encouraging maintenance of their knowledge. INS recommends that nurses practicing in the infusion specialty achieve and maintain infusion certification, thereby demonstrating proficiency in infusion therapy. INS maintains that RNs certified in infusion nursing (i.e., CRNI^®s), assisted by infusion-educated licensed practical nurses (LPNs) or licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), should be responsible for all aspects of patient care specific to infusion therapy. Infusion-educated LPNs/LVNs can provide efficient, high-quality, cost-effective delivery of infusion therapy; thus, INS maintains that the infusion-educated LPN/LVN is the minimum-level practitioner competent to assist in tasks delegated by the RN for the delivery of infusion therapy.

Infusion nurse specialists benefit both patients and healthcare facilities. The use of infusion nurse specialists leads to such outcomes as a lowered number of venipuncture restarts, lower phlebitis rates, and fewer infusion-related complications, as well as decreased liabilities. That is, as quality increases, cost decreases. Many researchers report that patients treated by infusion nurse specialists experience fewer complications than patients receiving infusion therapy from generalist nurses. Efficiency translates into daily cost savings for healthcare providers; compared to generalist nurses, infusion nurse specialists administer to more patients per day and use fewer supplies per task, and their patients have fewer iatrogenic complications. Hence, the delivery of infusion therapy by highly skilled and educated infusion nurse specialists provides the highest quality of care to patients and is also the most cost-effective method of providing these treatment modalities.

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