National IV Nurse Day Date in the current year: January 25, 2024

Infusion therapy is a medical technique that administers medications and fluids through a needle or catheter intravenously or subcutaneously. Intravenous therapy (also known as IV therapy) is a type of infusion therapy where medications, nutrients, and fluids (blood, serum, saline solution, etc.) are administered directly into the patient’s vein.

The first recorded attempt at administering a therapeutic substance intravenously dates back to the late 15th century, but it wasn’t successful. The first successful examples of IV treatment were Thomas Latta’s work on IV fluid replacement for cholera treatment and James Blundell’s blood transfusions in the 1830s. However, the results of Blundell’s transfusions were unpredictable because blood types hadn’t been discovered yet. 

Modern intravenous therapy was developed by Italian physician Guido Baccelli in the late 19th century and further expanded throughout the first half of the 20th century. However, it didn’t become widely available until the 1950s. Today, intravenous therapy is used to administer fluid replacement, various medications ranging from antibiotics to chemotherapy drugs, blood products, nutrients (parenteral nutrition), and contrast agents for medical imaging.

IV nurses, also known as infusion nurses, are nurses who manage most aspects of intravenous treatment for patients. While all registered nurses can start and manage IVs, infusion nurses have special knowledge and skills that make them best suited for this job. To become an IV nurse in the United States, one must first become a registered nurse and then earn a special intravenous certification.

It takes special skill to start an IV as painlessly as possible, but infusion nurses do so much more than that. They monitor fluids and medications, watch the IV to make sure it is working properly, track the patient’s vital signs, order and review blood tests to assess the effectiveness of infusion therapy, change dressings, and, of course, make sure their patients are as comfortable as possible.

The United States House of Representatives supported the establishment of National IV Nurse Day in 1980. The main goal of the holiday is to highlight the contribution of IV nurses to healthcare, as well as their dedication to making IV therapy as effective and painless as possible. It is supported by numerous professional organizations and nonprofits such as the Infusion Nurses Society.

There are different ways to observe National IV Nurse Day. You can reach out to the IV nurses you know and thank them for everything they to for their patients, send a greeting card or even a small gift to the IV nurse who has once treated you, donate to a charity that supports nurses, and spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtag #NationalIVNurseDay.