How To Get Trache and Vent Experience

Specialties Private Duty

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I currently work for an agency and have cases with ap monitors, oximeters and g-tubes but would like to add experience with traches and vents. Where do you gain this experience when you are not employed at an institution ? I had trache and vent training during clinicals and one respite case with a Lindemann Trache but it is not considered enough experience for my agency to train me on traches and vents. How do other agency nurses get trache and vent experience ?

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Specializes in Peds(PICU, NICU float), PDN, ICU.

Thought sounds like private duty nursing instead of agency nursing. But usually they start you off on a simple trach (no e on the end) case and you orient with a nurse for a few hours. If you are with a good agency, they will give you a few days of training.

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I work for an agency, I started with them with no experience. They often hire new nurses to gain experience. My agency is great about matching you to cases that you are 1: comfortable with and 2: challenge you. I had no experience with trach/vents until they sent me to a case that the mother is there the whole time until you are comfortable. I have been to many trach/vent pts where a family member who knows the pt's care will help you if you have questions. So I basically dove head first into trach/vent care, but with a backup there for the first week (3 shifts) and became comfortable very quickly. Since your agency doesn't sound like they do many inservices about trach/vents, my best suggestion would be to pair up with another nurse who works for your agency and ask how they received their experience.

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I literally just started pediatric private duty nursing and I was just put on a 12hr trach/vent case ive only been a nurse since dec so I left the LTC facility I was working with because I wasnt happy but I sat down talked with the DON of the agency I work for and told her I want experience I wanna learn about trachs and vents I want to learn as much as I can and literally this is my 2nd week and im already on a trach/vent case so my point is if I were u id request more complex cases

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I would be EXTREMELY cautious if I were inexperienced to only take a case with an extremely experienced and comfortable parent that is home 24/7. Parents have to prove real-life competencies before they take their children home. If you have never changed a trach on a person; never done an emergency trach change on a person; don't completely understand the vent, vent settings, vent outputs; and don't have the emergency procedures memorized and able to perform them without thinking, you need more experience in a supervised setting.

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Specializes in Peds(PICU, NICU float), PDN, ICU.

Ventmommy is right.

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Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

Bayada offers paid formal, extensive training (including independent book study with videos, lab simulation, and clinical practice) for trach and vent care, however they require that you work for them for at least a year in other cases before they put you in that program. I had been with another agency who threw me in cold on a trach/vent case and I knew so little, it was a few weeks before I realized that I had no business being on such a case. (The girl who trained me there didn't even know what PIP and PEEP stood for!) Now I know better. Don't let an agency do that to you. Demand proper training or don't do it at all. It's your license.

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Thank You all very much for answering me. All of the information you shared is very helpful, I especially appreciate the warnings about not taking cases that I am not experienced enough to handle alone. I am definately going to ask the staff RN at the next meeting if I can go with one of the nurses who have trach/vent cases. Thanks so much everyone for the help :)

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