Intubation of a patient

kguill975, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 2, 2012

Hi,

I did a clinical rotation with an NP intensivist and they were allowed to intubate. I think it has to do with privileges at the hospital.

Hope that helps.

austinj97 · Jul 2, 2012

thanks! Does it matter what type of NP you are?

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jul 2, 2012

Without starting a debate on the fact that acute care NP's (adult, peds, and neonate) are the only ones adequately trained for critical care practice, I would say that any NP who works in a critical care setting should have the skill to intubate a patient as this is an important part of being able to care for patients in the ICU.

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · Jul 2, 2012

I did as a RN when I worked on the flight crew, and yet as a FNP, no I would not. It is not within my NP scope of practice. Since I know how and am technically adept, I guess I could and would probably be OK since the usual guideline is "what would someone with your level of education and experience do." However, since we do not have ET tubes in the family practice clinic, I am saved from making such a decision, lol. I would just BVM and call 911!

In my state FNPs routinely work in hospitals in a ACNP role, so if I ever accepted such a position, yes, I would go back to tubing people. It is really not a big deal you know. It's a much larger "lumen" than a vein and I bet you calculate those all the time!

paultxrn · Jul 5, 2012

The bottom line is that a NP (and I agree with Juan 100%....should be an ACNP) can perform almost any skill for which they have been trained, and can demonstrate competency, including intubation and any other invasive procedure (swans, chest tubes, etc). The board of nursing guidelines are very broad, so ultimately each hospital dictates what the ACNP can and cannot do. I have been an ACNP for 10 years, and I have never worked in a hospital that required me to perform invasive procedures. However, many ACNPs perform procedures every day as part of their clinical practice.