Ventilator Safety
Hours: 1.00
Mechanical ventilation is an essential tool to provide support for patients who cannot adequately ventilate on their own. Whether a patient requires ventilator support for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or while recovering from open heart surgery, respiratory therapists (RTs) should be well educated in ventilator management and safety. Mechanical ventilators are complex machines that require proper training and proven competency to prevent patient harm. Ventilator-associated events (VAEs) can increase a patient’s mortality risk to nearly 50% and can increase hospitalization by 7-9 days (Dexter & Scott, 2019). Inappropriate settings, failure to communicate setting changes, and lack of proper training can all result in VAEs.
Mechanical ventilation is an essential tool to provide support for patients who cannot adequately ventilate on their own. Whether a patient requires ventilator support for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or while recovering from open heart surgery, respiratory therapists (RTs) should be well educated in ventilator management and safety. Mechanical ventilators are complex machines that require proper training and proven competency to prevent patient harm. Ventilator-associated events (VAEs) can increase a patient’s mortality risk to nearly 50% and can increase hospitalization by 7-9 days (Dexter & Scott, 2019). Inappropriate settings, failure to communicate setting changes, and lack of proper training can all result in VAEs.
