Am I "certified"??

[anangelsmommy, ADN, BSN, RN]

So after reading the threads about the different classes, I actually took it upon myself to find one of these classes and after reading the title : "IV CERTIFICATION COURSE" I signed up, took the course, took the test, did the lab and at the end I recieved my paper that read "has successfully completed INTRAVENOUS THERAPY COURSE, Theory and Practice and at the top it has Continuing Education Contact Hour Certificate which to me sort of makes the whole thing a little more like I just did it to get the CEU's. which is not at all why I did it. I am an LPN, taking my RN board this week and I thought having "IV CERTIFIED" on my resume would look really good. But I am not sure that I really am Iv certified. I think I just took an IV course.

Can someone with a little more knowledge about this explain what a true Iv certification, if there even is one, is? and if they know what I may be able to say what I have?

I am a little upset that this may have been a little misleading on the course description. And if so, then I may have just wasted my money? If there is a true IV certification and this is not is, who would do it and how do we know it is the real thing? are there qualifications that we as a nurse have to meet before we can take the course?

If you know, I would very much appreciate your sharing your knowledge. I would think this has something to do with the infusion nursing society. The woman that taught the class did share quite a bit that she had learned from the last conference. I am just not sure if that is the same thing.

anangelsmommy

[pok1]

There is MUCH confusion about the term certification. There are educational certificates, which prove that you have been educated in a topic or procedure, and then there is the national certification. Certification means that you have experience and have taken a national advanced test on a topic and have expertise in the topic. All the certification programs in nursing go through the ANCC credentialing system. As a CRNI, Certified Registered Nurse Infusion, I am certified in infusion therapy. I teach a 16 hour basic IV course three times a month. When the RNs and LPNs leave the class, they receive a certificate of attendance. This shows that they have been educated in the topic. They also leave with a form stating they have successfully started an IV on a fake arm. The bottom of the form that lists the skills they have performed states that it is the responsibliity of the facility to verify competency. Competancy is verified at facilities for most aspects of nursing. It is a set of skills that you perform to complete a procedure. EVERY class I have nurses asking if they will be certified. THe literature with the course information covers it, but many nurses do not understand the difference. Hope this helps. (Unfortunately, my class is not open to the public). I recommend taking a class on IV therapy, and then just keep trying to start IV's. Break it down step by step and perfect each step. Spend time looking at everyones' veins you see. Get a tourniquet and practise finding the veins. (Remember that today they are sinlge patient use). Take your time. Relax. Bring a fellow nurse with you who can help and guide you. Like every thing else in life, it comes easy for some people and others struggle. Learn to palpate veins - not see them. Knowing where veins are suppose to be will guide in the areas to look and feel for veins. Good luck.

[anangelsmommy, ADN, BSN, RN]

I appreciate your explanation. I guess what I am not happy about is that this advertised as a CERTIFICATION class, I would not have taken the weekend to go to this class or paid the money to go to this class. My own company does just IV classes and I have done IV's when I was in the service. I did phlebotomy for 15 years so I have no problem finding veins. We did take a test at the end of the class and we did start IV's on fake arms and draw blood on the same arms. I had no problem with either of this. I wanted not only the instruction but was also looking to have this on my resume. There is a job I wanted to apply for and now it looks as if I may have wasted my money. I think this should have been advertised as IV infusion class, NOT CERTIFICATION class. doesnt that seem misleading?

angelsmommy

[pok1]

You are right.... they should not have advertised as certification. Can you contact them and ask them what type of certification, not certificate, you received. If they cannot (and probably can't) provide anything, then ask for a refund for false advertisement. Also, if you do start IVs now, are you competencied at your facility? If so, then list competecy in IV as a skill on your resume. Good luck....

[anangelsmommy, ADN, BSN, RN]

i work for a home health agency now not a facility. So I will not be compensated. I can start to do IV infusion but I do not believe there will be much chance for starting IV's. Most will be through picc lines or central lines. I believe this was false advertising. I will be asking for a refund but somehow I doubt that I will get it. Now as for them changing the wording I think that should be mandatory! It should read something like you said certificate not certifacation!! I drove several hours to attend this class and spend a day right before my boards, believe me, I would not have done this, had I known it was just a certificate that I could have gotten at somewhere near me also.

anangelsmommy