Feeling 'uncomfortable' with an assignment

[CapeCodMermaid]

So in walks the agency nurse this afternoon. She had 15 patients to take care of. Once she heard one of the patients had a PICC line to flush, she freaked out and called her agency to try to find a replacement.

PICC lines are pretty basic stuff. I asked her why she was 'uncomfortable' and she told me she wasn't certified in IV's. Jumpin' Jehosaphats!!! An agency nurse is supposed to be able to jump in to any situation. It's a sub acute unit for goodness sakes and they send me an LPN with no IV certification.

Is this usual for agency nurses to be so skittish about assignments? I worked for an agency years ago and we were expected to be able to handle most anything in LTC/SNF.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

In Massachusetts, NO ONE hangs blood in a SNF and very few SNF's allow any medication to be given IV push. What I did as an RN at the hospital would possibly lose me my license in a skilled facility.

[vashtee, RN]

I've worked with some great agency nurses, regardless of the morale of the facility. They make a lot more money, and good for them. If I didn't have a family to come home to, I'd do the same.