Do all hospice patients now have IV's?

[Blackcat99]

I worked as a hospice LPN in Washington state for 2 years. None of my patients ever had IV's in the 2 years I worked. I have now moved to Florida. Hospice nurses in Florida need to have a 30 hour IV certification class. Why?

Do all the hospice patients in Florida have IV's now? Is this a new trend or what? What about other states? Are you required to have the 30 hour IV certification class? How many of your hospice patients have IV'S?

[sclpn]

been in hospice for lil over a year and none of our pts have had iv's. im in south carolina

[Blackcat99]

Thanks sclpn. I am confused. I haven't worked hospice lately and I didn't know if there are some new rules in hospice or what?

[heron, ASN, RN]

There's never been a rule about iv's in hospice except the general "rule" of thumb that holds po/sl to be the route of choice. We catch a lot of patients with iv's in my inpatient unit because we admit so many directly from the hospital.

I think the setting makes a big difference ... you won't see many in home care except the occasional permanent port in a cancer pt.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

I was wondering about that too since at my recent interview for a Hospice LVN they were concerned that I had never used my IV certification and that "all" of their hospice patients have IV's. I think the recruiter might be confused as he recruits for more than just the hospice division.

[Blackcat99]

Thanks all. Wow!!!!! So your recruiter said all of their hospice patients had IV's!!!! Yes, I hope your recruiter was just mixed up about hospice patients. I am going to go to a home care hospice job interview soon. She had told me on the phone that I needed to have the 30 hour IV certification class. I told her I did not have IV certification. I was ready to hang up the phone when she said to come in for an interview anyway???? If I get all dressed up for the interview and they tell me they cannot hire me because I do not have my IV certification I am going to scream!!!!!!

[BerryHappy]

Yup, I am in South FL and our agency's "PREFER" their nurses to be IV certified. I work Hospice and at a LTC facility and see that sometimes Hospice will put their pts on IV fluids if the pt family demands it. It is to keep the pt from dying of dehydration as opposed to dying from their diagnosis. Also, the CC nurses do not START the IV's. We just maintain them. I guess the agency's just prefer you are certified and comfortable with working with an IV.

Good luck!

[Blackcat99]

Thanks BerryHappy. OK-so the IV certification is more of a preference rather than a requirement. That's good to know. I do feel comfortable working with patients who have IV's. I hope everthing will go well at the interview. I am hoping though, to find a hospice patient who doesn't have an IV.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

BlackCat I think the recruiter was just not well informed. My orientation there was nothing about IV's.

[tencat]

I surely HOPE they're not all on IVs.....really bad for patients at the end of life to pump fluid into their bodies that will only accumulate in their lungs, legs, abdomens, and hands and then they drown instead of dying a more peaceful death.

[Blackcat99]

Thanks all. Congratulations tothepointeLVN on your new job! Yes, tencat:up: Let us all hope that the family members will allow their loved ones to have a more peaceful death.

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

I work inpatient hospice and MANY of our pts have iv's , its one of the concerns with employing lvns as in our facility they cannot do iv meds. And the IV allows for a more peaceful death, IV's are not simply for fluid admin. which we rarely do .......it allows more control of their pain as well as more successful symptom mgt for pts with acute issues which if they are in are facility they are there for either symptom mgt of nausea , pain crisis ect......