IV certification in the state of New York

[odiecoffey]

Hello All, quick question. I am a new registered nurse who is presently working as an Intake Nurse for a MLTC company in New York City. I was recently asked by my company to do a home infusion case for a male patient who has prostate cancer. I was hesitant to say yes to since I wasn't sure if they wanted me to actually start the IV insertion or just hang meds. I have hung meds before, but never did an IV insertion. Also she wasn't sure what kind of meds, if they were chemo drugs, I don't have alot of experience with that as well.

One of question I wanted to find out is do I need an IV certification before I can start doing it?

I told them they should check policy because I believe you need an IV certification before inserting IV. I could be wrong , not sure. Also I was uncomfortable working with any chemo drugs since I don't have a lot of experience working with them and how to deal with side effects and such. I said if the port was there and it was "regular" medications and such, they were asking me to hang, I would feel more comfortable with that scenario.

Any advice and/ or answer to my questions will be much obliged!

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I don't think there are any legal requirements for certification provided you have the training and skills in IV insertion and chemotherapy. I would be very worried about administering chemotherapy at home without any experience. These medications are very toxic both to the patient and to you if you don't handle them properly.