Vented Patient Should A Minimal Experienced Nurse Be Caring For A Vented Patient?

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Jul 17, 2008

If they have received a critical care class and proper orientation then why not?

How do you expect new nurses to learn?

When I was new, I had all kinds of competencies and all kinds of opportunities. So when I came off orientation, I was more than ready to care for vented pts. In fact, I find them the easiest to care for, IMO.

However, if you aren't comfortable with vents, then you shouldn't travel to places that require you to care for pts on vents. Otherwise, it shouldn't take long to get you oriented to the vent.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 17, 2008

Moved to the MICU forum for more appropriate input

RNperdiem, RN · Jul 17, 2008

Are you an ICU nurse, or was this a situation of taking care of a chronic vented patient on the floor?

If you have had at least some vent experience, and there was a charge nurse and respiratory therapist available, then I would have no trouble with it.

I am assuming that respiratory therapists are available for vent setting changes and troubleshooting.

allnurses Guide · Jul 19, 2008

We wouldn't allow a nurse who hadn't had orientation care for any of our ventilated patients, but we don't have RT's here so all of the ventilation management is done by the RN's I think our nurse to patient ratios are better as well, a ventilated patient would always be 1:1 and there will always be 2 senior nurses floating to help the junior staff

suanna · Jul 19, 2008

I could teach you everything you need to know about BASIC care for a patient on a vent in about 10min. Most of it you should have gotten in school with a refresher in critical care orientation. Vented patients can many times be more stable than

non-vented. It's much easier to mantain an airway and ventillate a patient with an ETT than to try to saturate a patient with problem lungs using only non-invasive equipment (NC,mask, CPAP treatments, IS,..). Try not to let the gagets worry you. No matter how many toys we attach to a patient, there is still a person under there that will benifit from basic patient care interventions.

PiPhi2004 · Jul 19, 2008

Our unit is a 16 bed unit and on average, about 14 pts will be intubated. If RNs without a lot of experience werent allowed to take care of vented pts then there would be nothing left! My first vented patient was my first day on the unit. This pt also had pressors going and the works. I was a new grad and this is just business as usual on our unit. Vents dont bother me, but we have RT around for problems that we may encounter with vents. We also had a class on ABGs and were required to know everything about vent support and numbers before we stepped foot on the floor and had many competency tests about such things. We also spent one day of our orientation with RT seeing what they do with vents. I think the sooner new nurses are exposed to such things the better. We are never singled because a pt is vented, and most of the time we have 2 pts vented and pressors going. The only thing that calls for a pt to be singled is if the pt is receiving CVVHD, and even then its unlikely.

ukstudent · Jul 23, 2008

Hi everyone, I've been a travel nurse for less than year, and an RN for 4 with minimal experience with vented patients. My patient the other night coded while on the vent and the patient is alive , but should a nurse with minimal experience with vents be caring for a patient with on a vent.

As a traveler you should have your competencies written out. What you can and can't do should be in your contract. If you are not competent to look after someone on a vent then your agency should not send you to a place that you would then need to do that. You now know to make sure to check about your next assignment (no vents). Are you an ICU nurse? This was originally post in the general nursing section.

RRT2RN2CRNA · Oct 16, 2008

Vents really arent that bad. Air in, air out. That's it. Don't be intimidated.

It's just a big scary looking computerized box that regulates how you want the air to go in and how you want it to come out. The more sophisticated the vent, the most options you have. But at the end of the day, it's just like having a robot that bags the pt for you.

OK maybe it's sooooo simple. But really most vent-anxiety is easily overcome.

The best thing about having a vented pt is that you don't have to worry about them crapping out and getting intubated. They're already tubed. The A and B of the ABCs are covered. Usually, they're also sedated so that's even better!

I wish all my patients were intubated all the time. :)

If you have a nice RT that works in your unit, catch them during rounds and see if they'll have time later to give you a little overview of the vent. Just say you're new to the hospital and you had different vents at your last job. Most RTs are nice and will help you out- at least enough so that you're not completely freaked out by every beep it makes.

Putu2Sleep · Oct 16, 2008

We wouldn't allow a nurse who hadn't had orientation care for any of our ventilated patients, but we don't have RT's here so all of the ventilation management is done by the RN's I think our nurse to patient ratios are better as well, a ventilated patient would always be 1:1 and there will always be 2 senior nurses floating to help the junior staff

i find that just hilarious. unless the patient is fresh out the OR from open heart surgery or on a fresh VAD, CRRT (which we still pair sometimes), or an open chest that is unstable they are never 1:1. having a vented patient should never be 1:1 in my eyes unless they are so unstable you are constantly titrating drips. :chuckle

on the topic though, if you are a traveler and aloud to travel to units with vents i would hope you didnt lie in your interview or to your agency about your experience. because in order to work in an ICU you should have had vent experience to begin with. but people have to learn somewhere and dont be afraid to ask for help or info while on the job.

allnurses Guide · Oct 17, 2008

i find that just hilarious. unless the patient is fresh out the OR from open heart surgery or on a fresh VAD, CRRT (which we still pair sometimes), or an open chest that is unstable they are never 1:1. having a vented patient should never be 1:1 in my eyes unless they are so unstable you are constantly titrating drips. :chuckle

Bear in mind we are working in different systems in the UK we don't have RT's or CNA's in ICU so the RN does everything for that patient.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2008

I could teach you everything you need to know about BASIC care for a patient on a vent in about 10min. Most of it you should have gotten in school with a refresher in critical care orientation. Vented patients can many times be more stable than
non-vented. It's much easier to mantain an airway and ventillate a patient with an ETT than to try to saturate a patient with problem lungs using only non-invasive equipment (NC,mask, CPAP treatments, IS,..). Try not to let the gagets worry you. No matter how many toys we attach to a patient, there is still a person under there that will benifit from basic patient care interventions.

Exactly. don't let the vent intimidate you. If they are already intubated, that's one less thing to worry about!