Vent experience or arterial line experience for ICU?

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In my hospital there is one floor outside of the unit that will take a Patient on the ventilator and a different floor that will take someone with an arterial line (usually waiting on blood to thicken after heart cath to pull the line). I work on the floor that takes ventilator patients. I'm interested in going to CVICU or CCU. In your opinion would they prefer a nurse who has vent experience or experience with arterial lines?

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Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

Both are needed; however, they can both be taught. Vents are more complicated than A-lines. With that being said, I see and deal with more vents than A-lines. Many times if the pts condition is poor, they will be on the vent as well as have a A-line for close monitoring.

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Blood doesn't thicken. Why do I get so annoyed at the use of that term? It's bad enough we still use the term 'blood thinners' for anti-coagulants.

At any rate, I agree that vent experience is harder to come by, and very valuable.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Vents. Managing a patient on a vent is more preferable. Both are helpful, but vents are a necessity.

Good luck

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Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

Maybe I'm weird, but I find vents more intuitive than a-lines, as far as trouble shooting them. It's probably b/c I have all of 4 weeks' experience lol, and just have dealt with more vents thus far than a-lines. But, troubleshooting a vent alarm relies more on common sense whereas troubleshooting a poorly functioning a-line, I feel, requires more knowledge. high pressure alarm on vent: biting on ETT as compared to now why isn't this thing fast flushing like it ought to? lol. Is that really a square wave or is it dampened? So, out came the book after work lol.

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Vents!! An a-line is really nothing more than an IV cath in an artery plugged into a monitor.....very easy to learn about. Learn how to manage vents, alarms, trouble shoot, gasses, vent settings etc. would be much more valuable!

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.
Maybe I'm weird, but I find vents more intuitive than a-lines, as far as trouble shooting them. It's probably b/c I have all of 4 weeks' experience lol, and just have dealt with more vents thus far than a-lines. But, troubleshooting a vent alarm relies more on common sense whereas troubleshooting a poorly functioning a-line, I feel, requires more knowledge. high pressure alarm on vent: biting on ETT as compared to now why isn't this thing fast flushing like it ought to? lol. Is that really a square wave or is it dampened? So, out came the book after work lol.

I don't know how it is in adult nursing, but in my line of work there is far more to managing a ventilated patient than just troubleshooting the occasional alarm.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, & ED.

I been wanting information about this! :) I just got hired at a local ED , the .nrs assist in central lines and arterial lines, which I did not experience at my first place of employment ( medical students would run to a room and take over) and didn't forsee the need for this :( where can get a visual learning experience online? I went back to reading ,but can't see the whole picture. Cvp? SVO2?

P.S.:please help.

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Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

I realize there is more care involved with a vented patient, and that ventilators are more complex than a-lines. You level the transducer, zero the a-line and call it a day if it's working. I just find understanding the vent settings, etc, more intuitive than some other things in the ICU (pa lines for instance), but it could also be b/c I haven't had a patient with a PA line yet. It's apparently very rare in the MICU...that's more of a CVICU thing.

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