Educational requirements for allergy nurses

That's a good question, Kim. Nurses usually receive little or no allergy training in nursing school. Yet it is a highly specialized field that requires knowledge, judgement, and expertise.

The best approach is on-the-job training, or preceptorship. I'd worked in the float pool of a local clinic for 2 1/2 years when I accepted a position with an Allergist who was new in the clinic. He sent me a list of supplies needed and addresses of where to order them before he came.

We only saw a few patients a day the first weeks. Between patients, he taught me how to prepare test vials, mix patient extracts, and set up trays for testing. He showed me how to do the actual testing and watched as I did it the first time or two. He taught me how to read the tests and monitored me until he knew I could read them correctly. He taught me how to make judgement calls about when and how much to back a patient up when they had missed doses or were ill.

A few months later he sent me to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting in New York, for an intense series of lectures and discussions guided by the top leaders in the field.

When we got so busy we needed another nurse, we chose an LPN who'd always done hospital nursing. I taught him just as I'd been taught, making sure he was competent in each area before allowing him to do it alone.

Later I became the nurse overseer of an ENT allergy clinic. The ENT specialist had inherited an Allergy/Immunology practice, and I'd already had experience in that field. Almost immediately after I came, the physician sent me to an American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy Basic Course in Hilton Head, S.C., where I was able to learn different methods specific to ENT practice. This, coupled with the experience I'd already had, enabled me to set up and manage the ENT-Allergy clinic under the supervision of the ENT physician.

In allergy, there are some very basic things, like what part of the arm to give the injections in, what sort of reactions to watch for, how to perform the basic tests, etc. But each physician will add his own methodology. There are numerous optional procedures the physician may or may not employ.

Formulas for the mixes (both testing and treatment) will be determined by the physician. While there are general guidelines, there is also much room for diversity in individual treatment mixes. Some physicians will prefer to use a standard tree mix for example, while others will prefer each tree extract individally added.

You will need to check with your State Nursing Board to determine the legal requirements in your area. But to the best of my knowledge, allergy nurses in the US are not legally required to have any extra training other than the usual continuing education credits for their specialty. However, nurses are legally required to demonstrate competence in their field, and to keep abreast of new developments and procedures that may affect that competency.

I continue to train nurses from time to time, and I always advise them to not do anything they are uncomfortable with. I give new nurses at our clinic my home phone number, and tell them to call me or ask the physician if they have quesitons on my days off. I tell them that if they are uncertain whether to proceed, to always err on the side of caution. I've found that patients trust a nurse who will say, "I've not run into this situation before. Let me talk with a more experienced nurse," or "Let me ask the physician."

I would highly recommend that any nurse wanting to learn allergy attend all the allergy workshops and meetings he or she can. The best way to find these is to become an Allied Health Member of your parent organization.

For Allergist/Immunologists the parent organizations are:
American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology and
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

For the ENT-Allergy Specialist, the parent organizations are:
American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy and
American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Inc.

Both specialties usually provide numerous opportunities for nurses to learn. These include Annual Meetings which are much more than a meeting. They are usually several days long, crammed with lectures, workshops, seminars, and opportunities to network, practice procedures, and ask questions.

Regional courses are usually offered at least twice a year through the parent organizations.

In addition, training is sometimes available through other resources. For example, I attended an Updates in Asthma Therapy seminar presented by a local Pulmonoligist earlier this year. I received a brochure in the mail last week about a basic course in ENT Allergy sponsored by Antigen Labs.

AllergyNursing.com also provides you with educational material backed up by experience and documented references. Bookmark AllergyNursing.com right now, subscribe to our Allergy Nursing Newsletter, and join our Allergy Professionals' Discussion Group. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to learn, and you'll soon be amazed at how much knowledge you've gained in the field of Allergy Nursing.

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