when can nurses touch ventilators

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Hi

I'm an Ozzie nurse working in Louisiana.Here ican can only touch the Fi02 on a vent.

Can someone tell me in which states are they a little more proactive with nurses and vents????

Thanks

Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

It depends on your facility. In my NICU, we have 2 RTs for upwards of 78 babies. Nurses can and do adjust PIP, fio2, rate, etc....as long as we have an order.

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in home care (where there is 24 hour coverage, not interrmittent visits) nurses (rn's only) can adjust with an md order, since these are chronic cases.

with the new legislation in place, bsrt's will be able to write orders and adjust vent settings, in the homecare setting, as necessary.

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Nurses in the US gave up all the respiratory responsibilities to the Respiratory Therapists, who really didn't exist 40 years ago ( at least not in great numbers)

I'm not exactly sure what you meant by that comment......? How thin do you want to spread yourself? Did nursing really "give up" responsibility? Or did newer and far more complicated treatments, modalities, and technology warrant a team oriented approach to healthcare?

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg, critial care.

I just transfered to the ICCU from med/surg. I won't touch a vent other than FiO2 and even then I'm pretty cautious. I feel like I don't know enough nor do I have enough experience to hange vent settings. Other nurses on the floor will go ahead and start a wean and tell the RT about it later.

As far as giving up my responsibilities to the RRT's, I have enough to do in a day. I will gladly hand those to the RRT's so I can perform all the other tasks required of me in one shift.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

All we are allowed to do is give 100% FIO2 before and after sxn. Glad we have RRT to manage the vent.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

I'm not sure if what you are seeing is a state BON regulation or a facillity policy. Where I work the nurse can make any change to the vent settings that is ordered/within the parameters set by the physician. Out therapists have a fit every now and them so we try not to tred on thier turf too much, but I am in charge of my patients care- his vent included.

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Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.

In our facility, the RRTs manage the vents. RNs give breaths via the vent and change Fi02 -making a note of when/why the FiO2 was changed. RNs or RRTs suction, generally asking each other when was the last time suctioned. RRTs give all respiratory treatments. Love our RRTs! I've learned alot from them.

Our MDs usually leave all vent changes to the RRT to make. We have one or two who will sneak something in - but they will generally tell or make a note.

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We do a lot of vent management where I work. We have RT's but they are few and are spread too thin. We often draw our gasses as well.

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

In the UK we don't have RT's, the ICU's I have worked in nurses did adjust vent settings especially with post op patients we would wean to the point of extubation, when I left this particular unit we were finalising the policy to wean post ops and extubate under protocol.

Another unit I worked in only had senior medical cover from another site 20 miles away, the junior medics were a liability near the vents so if needed we altered the vents whilst waiting the senior medics to get to the unit. The junior doctors got a slap if they tried to touch our vents :p

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