NGT Suction

[TishaAdriane]

Hi nurses! 
 

I am on my 10th month of doing Med Surg and I still feel like I am making lots of mistakes. Just recently had one this morning. Resident surgeon came in my patient's room and noticed that the NGT was not in correctly. The blue tube (air vent) was connected to the suction. Though I had an output on my shift 250 cc and prior shift had 150 cc. I felt so dumb because I didn't check thoroughly that it was correct. Resident was upset with me. I feel like I am not improving as days go on... 

[SnickRN BSN RN CCRN]

An air vent does have the ability to remove stomach contents, the opening is not wide enough for everything. If you placed it, then I would make sure someone helps you next time. If you found it that way (I.e. you didn't hook it up), reach out to the Charge or Educator as someone else needs education also. 

 

Handoff is important when dealing with lines and drains and takes just a few moments. Otherwise, it my be a suggestion to the educator to may start looking into an Enfit setup. The air vent is not that blue cap and has one spot for suction and a reverse leurlock for feeding/flush/meds. Cuts down on misconnections as well as disconnections. 

 

It gets better. Ask for help when you need it and hopefully you have a Charge RN who can go over connections/lines when your not sure or want a double check.