Bipap s/t....like a vent case or not?

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Dec 30, 2014

The agencies that I worked for treated BiPAP cases AS vent cases due to the acuity of the clients condition; even with vent experience, I still had to shadow a nurse for a certain number of hours that was familiar with the case.

Gooselady, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2014

I'm just curious as to what the overall opinions on this are. Seems to me that nurses with zero vent experience are about as useful as a baby monitor with this, esp when there are issues.....but apparently it's still considered "not a vent" and appropriate for new grad LPNs by all agencies and case managers. the Nurses without vent experience however are absolutely not comfortable with or able to do troubleshooting or figuring out what to do for various problems, assessing if there's good air flow, mask seal, leaks, etc.

Is there a specific case where this became a problem?

I'm going into orientation for a private duty company, first job at this (aside from HH years ago).

At my recent hospital position, pts on BiPAP were frequently on our floor, while any vent pit was in ICU, so the demarcation THERE is how it's sealed into my brain. Which makes your question a good one! I can slap a BiPAP on a person, help fix the whistles/leaks but as for the machine, that was left up to RT, it was never suggested we learn to fiddle with the machines.

In the home, I can see your point, that BiPAP and ventilator needs have less of a demarcation of 'difference'. It seems a dangerous 'distinction' to make, the settings on either machine being quite important for the good ole ABCs.

yogastudentRN · Dec 31, 2014

This makes sense..unfortunately the agency we had been with stopped staffing his case after a 12 day hospitalization and it's all new people...there's nobody to shadow.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Dec 31, 2014

In my agency the BiPAP/CPAP cases are not required to be staffed by trach/vent nurses unless pt has a trach. However these are usually high skill cases and never staffed by new grads or new to pedi nurses in either agency. The only new hire nurses would be nurses who worked PICU, NICU or other inpatient unit with verified experience and demonstration of competency in our skills lab.

Several LPNs are high tech & high skilled nurses just like several RNs are basic care only nurses. One RN is basic PO feeders only because of her difficulty even working with GT, JT, and enteral feeds. License level is only one indication of skill level.

rnrg · Jan 4, 2015

^all of my agencies are similar in clinical when staffing assignments also.

NightNurseRN13 · Jan 8, 2015

I was a new grad when I first started pdn and had no idea what I was doing when it came to vents. Luckily, there were two patients in the same house which meant two nurses so I always had someone to ask for help. I feel that without that experience I still wouldn't know what I was doing lol

caliotter3 · Jan 8, 2015

The bipap case that I once worked was easier than my other vent cases. Since it was a night shift case, nothing more than monitoring throughout the night anyway. Mom gave me an intro at the orientation that proved sufficient.