E-Journal Club #7

Lindgren, Vicki A. MSN, RN,CCRN “Caring for Patients on Mechanical Ventilation”, American Journal of Nursing, May 2005, Vol 105/5; pp 50-59.

Summary: “This article addresses several integral areas of care, including weaning from mechanical ventilation, preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia, providing nutritional support, managing anxiety, timing tracheostomy, preventing aspiration and promoting sleep.”

Here is another example of why I like the AJN. This article, although it does not present new research, displays the current abundant research on the subject of mechanical ventilation in critical care. At the end of each section, she highlights “Best nursing practice”, and includes the references to important guidelines and their web addresses.

When Victoria Randazzo first began to develop her sedation protocol ideas here at St. Joseph's, she gathered many of the great articles published on this subject, including many listed at the end of this article. They began the foundation of what she wanted to accomplish and why.

As we continue to use research and evidence based practice, we begin to ask questions of our nursing practice. It is comforting to know that much of what we do is based on current research and a multidisciplinary approach to the answer.