2 small dilemmas.

What kind setting will you be in? Is it a hospital or a LTC/SNF?

I work in a LTC/SNF and this is the way it works for us.

I'm an LPN and there is a respiratory therapist and an RN charge nurse on duty at all times. I had an in service on vents and I have also read up on them in my spare time but if something is fugazy with the vent my job is to report it to RT.

My role is to do the vital signs, finger sticks with coverage, pass meds and respond to the alarms since the RN and RT can't be everywhere at once. I was trained on how to do open and closed suctioning as well as basic trach care and it's not scary at all. I actually like working on the vent unit but the way that our facility works is that they only send an LPN there when they don't have enough RNs so I rarely get to be on that unit.

It can be a sad place to work but it's not that scary once you are taught your role and know what to do.

The best person to answer the question about your name change would be the State Board of Nurses in the State in which you hold that license.

Many LPN's work for nursing agency companies that handle trach pts here. (they want you to have a year of nursing under your belt before they consider you..I have 6 months left) The company trains you extensively before sending you out on the case alone. I was lucky enough to do a clinical rotation of 3 months at facility that was strictly vent and trach pts. Not a lot of the LPN schools here get to experience that clinical, so I do have a bit of a leg up on some of the new grads. There are also a few special needs facilities that employ LPN's for their residents who are trach/vent dependant. Again, a lot of training is given before they will allow you to work alone.

I'm sure your first code will rattle you a bit but its odd how your brain takes over and you go through the motions without freaking out..usually

You need to contact your Board to see how to handle the name change. This info is usually found on the website.

As far as vents in home health, just approach the vent as a machine that you are going to learn how to use. Get a copy of the operator's manual for one and read it. Attend a class on vent management. Go to the home health forum on this site and you will find info about vents at the top of the forum. Ask your agency if you can spend a shift or two working with another nurse who will show you about vents. Family members can usually handle vents, as well as other aspects of patient care, better than we can tie our own shoes. Most, but not all, will be happy to "hold your hand" until you get used to working with the vent. The agency will know which vent cases are suitable for nurses who are new to vent management. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can always work on cases that don't have vents until you are ready to try this new challenge.

Good luck with your new job.

I worked with a trach patient (pediatric, in fact) and it was not bad at all, but did not get trained in vent care. Would you please share a bit of what you were taught regarding vent care, their emergencies and how to handle them? Like you said, most LPN schools did not get to cover this in clinicals, and I was one of them.