Apheresis education and certification for nurses

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation requires a wide-range of expertise and procedural competence, in which nurses play important roles throughout, including stem cell mobilization and collection by apheresis. Little is published about post-licensure nursing education in apheresis, which suggests that it proceeds at the discretion of individual institutions, supplemented with practical training by equipment manufacturers. Information can be obtained on a small number of apheresis training courses for nurses in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey, and on nurse certification systems in Turkey and the United States. There seems to be no certification officially linked to institutional accreditation or medical insurance reimbursement related to apheresis, except in Turkey. Because apheresis is associated with various adverse events, including citrate toxicity and vasovagal reactions, the Japan Society of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, in cooperation with 3 other speciality societies, started a "Qualified Apheresis Nurse" certification in 2010, when the Japan Marrow Donor Program officially added circulating stem cell collection to bone marrow harvest from unrelated donors as a source of hematopoietic stem cells. Questionnaire surveys, collected when nurses must renew or surrender their 5-year certification, show that our system matches nurses' learning desire and can be an objective and motive of their learning, thus leading to safer and more effective apheresis practice. We dare to imagine that an internationally standardized curriculum might emerge, to which we would contribute, and from which we would learn.

Keywords: Apheresis; Blood center; Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Nurse certification; Nurse education; Nurse qualification.