Happy New Year! Happy IV Nurse Day! Happy Anniversary!
The turn of the calendar page to 2013 holds special meaning for INS. As we celebrate the new year of 2013, INS is also commemorating the year 1973. Forty years ago, 17 nurses and 1 technician met at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for the purpose of organizing a professional association of registered nurses involved in the administration of intravenous therapy. This therapy was rapidly evolving into a nursing specialty. Our 2 founders, Ada Plumer, RN, and Marguerite Knight, RN, led the group that eventually established the National Intravenous Therapy Association (NITA), forerunner to the Infusion Nurses Society (INS). Their mission, and still our driving force, was to ensure that patients receive the high level of care they deserve.
As we look back at that special moment, it is impossible not to celebrate how far we've come in 40 years! Our membership has grown exponentially, from 16 charter members to more than 7000 members in more than 43 countries. The number of educational resources we offer has greatly increased. Our fall and spring meetings attract thousands of health care professionals each year. But, most importantly, our voice as the global authority in infusion nursing has grown louder and stronger. We are honored and humbled by this distinction, and we work each and every day to set the standard for dedicated clinicians who seek to provide excellent infusion care.
Since our very humble beginnings, we've published 7 versions of the Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice, the gold standard in infusion nursing, and the 3rd edition of our textbook, Infusion Nursing: An Evidence-Based Approach, debuted in 2010. Our online Knowledge Center provides learning opportunities not available anywhere else, including webinars, publications, educational programming, and our popular Clinical Nursing Forum. The Journal of Infusion Nursing enters its 36th year of publication in 2013 and now offers readers the options of print and online access, and even an app for the iPad.
In an effort to increase the participation of nurses in leadership, research, and education, INS has awarded scholarships and grants annually through the Gardner Foundation since 1997. The CRNI(R) credential, first offered by examination in 1985 through our sister organization the Infusion Nurses Certification Corporation, is the only nationally recognized and accredited certification in infusion nursing. Registered nurses who earn the credential validate their professional experience and represent excellence in the infusion nursing specialty.
Medical technology has changed dramatically, and our specialty looks very different from what it looked like to our founders and charter members 40 years ago. When NITA began, intravenous nursing was limited to acute care hospitals. Now, as the specialty has become more technologically advanced and the benefits of infusion nursing are better known, the specialty has expanded into all practice settings. Yet, one important aspect about our specialty has never changed-providing that all-important human touch to ease fears and comfort our patients and their families. Advocating for patients and promoting patient and health care worker safety are a critical part of the infusion nurse's role. Infusion nursing has indeed evolved into an art and a science.
Thanks to you, our members, for providing INS with feedback that articulates your needs, which has helped us provide the benefits and services you require to develop professionally. We also appreciate your active participation and loyal support, which guide us in all we do while INS continues to be true to our mission of setting the standard for infusion nursing excellence. Here's to the next 40 years and beyond....Happy Anniversary, INS!
The author of this editorial has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Mary Alexander
From the Publisher
It is with deep pride and pleasure that Lippincott Williams & Wilkins congratulates the Infusion Nurses Society on its 40th Anniversary! Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) has been a society publisher for many years, and one of our strongest and most rewarding publishing partnerships has been with the Infusion Nurses Society (INS).
We've come a long way together over the past 35 years! LWW has had the privilege of publishing the Journal of Infusion Nursing-including its predecessors NITA and the Journal of Intravenous Nursing. We entered the Internet age together with the launch of http://www.JournalofInfusionNursing.com and entered the digital age with the launch of the iPad app for the Journal. And it has been a pleasure to watch the INS membership grow to over 7,000 strong.
On a personal note, working with the staff at INS has been a wonderful experience. Simply put, they are the best of the best. Our hope is that INS and LWW will continue working together for many years to come.
Congratulations!
Sandra Kasko
Publisher