IMPLEMENTATION OF A NURSE-DRIVEN VENTILATOR WEANING PROTOCOL AT A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

This paper will review the benefits of a nurse-driven ventilator weaning protocol (NDVWP) in a community hospital that currently utilizes a physician led weaning approach. Physicians have traditionally guided ventilator weaning, however their weaning trials typically occur once a day. Because of this, there are missed opportunities during the day in which patients could be weaned off the ventilator. Nurse-driven ventilator weaning protocols have been developed to assess clinical factors indicating a patient’s eligibility to wean off the ventilator. Nurses are readily available to evaluate patients by virtue of their job. As such, a NDVWP can be utilized in the hospital to expediently start ventilator weaning trials for patients and prevent adverse events associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation.