Immunotherapy Safety for the Primary Care ... - U.S. Coast Guard

eflecting current robust documentation standards, as well as office policy and procedure manuals should
be reviewed and updated at reasonable intervals.
All nursing and support staff should have in-services to reflect knowledge changes, as the profession of
the allergy nurse evolves. As offices transition to computerized systems, the nurse is still responsible for
the actual administration of the medication/extract, and should be engaged in finding and reducing errors,
and potential errors which may be inherent within their computerized programming. He/she should never
knowingly give a medication/extract which he/she reasonably deems to be improper, for that patient.
The institution or employer should have in place a process for evaluating and documenting the nurse’s
demonstration of the knowledge, skills, and abilities for management of patients receiving allergy
immunotherapy. Evaluation and documentation of these competency skills should occur on a regular
basis.
Immediate availability of epinephrine and of an emergency cart, which contains resuscitative and
antagonist medications, airway and ventilator adjunct equipment, defibrillator, suction, and a source for
administration of oxygen are commonly included in current standards for giving allergy immunotherapy.
Registered nurse practitioners, by virtue of advanced education and practice in their area of allergy
specialty, may, or should have met, these requirements to safely administer allergy immunotherapy, but
only if properly trained to do so.