Vented patients

I work at an inpatient hospice facility that takes vented patients and then extubates them, usually within 3-4 days. What do you feel is a safe nurse:patient ratio when you have a patient on a vent?

I was assigned to the vented patient and I remeber the nurse said she only had to take care of 3 or 4 patients and she was happy about that and she usually takes 5-6.

my ratio is 1:4, whether they're vented or not.

our pt poplulation has many medical needs, and being vented doesn't seem to make a big difference.

but, i've never had more than 3 when one of them is tubed.

leslie

in my hospital unit, the max ratio is 2:1 if on a vent.

There's a huge range of vented patients from the very stable to the not-at-all-stable. What kind of sedation are they on? What other drips? Are they needing frequent blood products? Etc, etc, etc. Typically our more unstable patients are 1:1, someone with a vented patient rarely has more than 2 patients, and 2-3 patients is a typical assignment without vented patients for my floor. Granted, the acuity on an intermediate level care situation may be different.