Vent Training

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey Nurses, I am wondering if there are classes and where to get trained to be able to work with a Ventilator. I am trying to expand my skill set and have done plenty of my own research online about how to use them, but would like a class.

Unless you're going to work in an ICU or step down unit, what would be the purpose of becoming familiar with ventilators? And if you're not working in an area where you will use that skill often, then just learning about it without practicing it often will not be very useful. So I guess I'm confused...

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

The other area where vent training is useful is a LTC vent unit or pediatric LTC vent unit and private duty pediatric home health. However these facilities/agencies require their own training courses. Having the training without work experience is not useful or marketable.

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Of course you could always secure a degree in respiratory therapy. You cannot learn ventilator operation and use from online & you tube. It's nothing like in person training and hands I preceptorship with an experienced nurse or respiratory therapist. Very few places offer classes for non-employees

Hey Nurses, I am wondering if there are classes and where to get trained to be able to work with a Ventilator. I am trying to expand my skill set and have done plenty of my own research online about how to use them, but would like a class.

Check this site out! All you need to know about vents

Welcome / Hamilton Medical College

1 Votes
Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Unless you are left all alone with private care vented patient (and these are usually stable ones) you will have bare minimum to do with actual vent machine. In no places I was working nurses were even allowed to touch it except for "100% o2" while suctioning (and maybe alarms, when RRTs get to know you and start to trust your judgement).

You will have to collaborate with RRTs, though, because their clinical preparation and scope of practice are much more limited and they often depend on nursing assessment skills and understanding of the "big picture". But it has not so much to do with the vent as with your critical thinking and plain common sense.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I work at a stand alone ER and we manage our own vents. They are pretty rudimentary. Dr tells up PEEP FIO2 etc and we plug in numbers. The transport vent is even more primitive.... Its an orange box with dials.

I work for aeromedical and we are required to start and manage ALL vent settings independently. So yes nurses can and do manage vented patients.

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

I manage and adjust vent settings per physician/provider protocol for my pediatric patients. We trouble shoot as necessary; and not all of our children are the most stable in the home environment but definitely more stable than PICU/NICU though when hospitalized even for outpatient surgery they are sent to the PICU. Nurses most definitely manage ventilators. The local pediatric LTC has RRT on consult but the floor RNs & LPNs manage all the trach/vent kiddo's just like we do in PDN/home health. Some of our children are aging out and the adult division of our agency is hiring our pedi t/v nurses for continuity of care. Especially with the expansion of community care waivers as these children & adults can be managed at home just as well as in the inpatient ventilator unit at LTC.

Specializes in ICU.

To the person that stated you do not need to work vents because rt does it...incorrect. I work icu, and more than once have I adjusted my vent settings. I think that every rn working in ICU with vents should know basic parameters and weaning guidelines. If rt puts my pt on a cpap trial and they go into distress. Of course I'm going to put them back on pressure support if need be while waiting. If they desat, absolutely will turn the fio2 up. I appreciate RT and all they do, but that is my pt, and I dang well better know how to run the vent if need be. It scares me that nurses think they DONT need to know those things.

Are trying to make yourself more marketable?

I've been looking up vent management myself.

I want to have a better understanding of how to troubleshoot, like breath stacking.

I found some articles, haven't sat down to read them yet.

http://www.aacn.org/WD/CETests/Media/C31132.pdf

http://www.indiachest.org/teaching/Ventilator%20waveform%20analysis.pdf

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