Michelle Simpson, PharmD, BCSCP, MWC | Editor-in-Chief, Infusion Journal

In this issue of Infusion Journal, Haines et al. report on the results of a national survey of home infusion nurses. It is the first published study of the education and experience of home infusion nurses, specifically collecting nurse demographics and years of nursing experience. Understanding the experience, education, and credentials specific to home infusion nurses who actively provide direct patient care in the home setting is essential for preparing for shifts in the industry.

The authors surveyed over 500 home infusion nurses and found that home infusion nurses have more years of experience than nurses working in other settings. The article reported a third of home infusion nurses had 11-20 years of nursing experience, and another quarter of the respondents had 21-30 years of experience. Based on the authors’ findings, nurses are choosing a career in home infusion. The surveyed nurses made the transition from more than 20 different types of prior nursing experience working in various clinical settings. Furthermore, half the nurses surveyed transitioned to home infusion in the last 5 years, with one-third responding they made the change during the past 1-3 years. Taken together, there is an obvious trend of highly experienced nurses seeking employment opportunities in home infusion.

Notably, the authors shared an impactful statistic that slightly more than 60% of the respondents were between the ages of 45 and 64 years, showing an upcoming movement in staffing as nurses age out of providing patient care. This information gives some possible assumptions that home infusion nursing may offer a workload that is less physically taxing than other work locations and, therefore, potentially appeals more to nurses over the age of 40. Even though a high percentage of nurses surveyed have worked for many years, nurses early in their careers also responded to the survey, meaning they, too, chose to transition to home infusion. Patients choose home infusion for the flexibility of treatment plans and nursing schedules, and the study’s findings suggest that nurses may also choose home infusion to optimize the flexible scheduling with their lifestyle. Since workload affects the quality of work, supporting nurses in maintaining their physical, emotional, and mental well-being improves their ability to support the patients and families they care for.

Original research papers are distinguished by their primary focus on presenting new findings. Being the first to research the qualifications of home infusion nurses, the authors did an outstanding job designing and administering the survey, as evidenced by the generous sample size. Their analysis of the study’s findings will provide Infusion Journal readers with insight into the current characteristics of the home infusion nursing population. Original research contributes unique information in a particular field. It is the foundation of scientific progress, and the results presented by Haines et al, can serve as a foundation for future studies and evaluating trends with home infusion nurses. The originality of the authors’ research filled a knowledge gap that can assist nursing leaders with preparing for changes in their staffing needs in the next decade and using the levels of education and credentialing to direct the standards or expectations for experience when hiring a nurse for home infusion.

An abundance of research is being performed and published, but a tiny fraction of it applies to home infusion. Infusion Journal wants to encourage our readers to conduct research related to home infusion, and we were grateful for the opportunity to share the authors’ findings emphasizing the expansive qualifications of home infusion nurses. The absence of prior studies makes it even more compelling to publish. The study’s results were representative of what I have experienced during my career working in collaboration with home infusion nurses. The nurses I know consistently deliver high-quality, professional, compassionate care, and I greatly respect how they do their jobs. I appreciated the evidence-based research supporting what many of us in this industry see daily.

Infusion Journal is interested in publishing original research that recognizes and documents the positive impact of infusion nurses on reducing or eliminating complications and improving patient outcomes and satisfaction. We welcome submissions from authors on topics relevant to infusion therapy administered in the home, clinic, suite, or other outpatient setting. Infusion Journal maintains a list of suggestions for research in relevant areas of interest in home infusion and includes numerous ideas specific to infusion nursing.¹