A very brief and complete explanation of mechanical ventilation. About eight years ago, I worked on a monitored pulmonary floor that had four ventilator beds. My formal training was minimal, so I learned on the job, as best I could. As a beginner, I asked a lot of questions, read a ton of books, and had a hard time. This short book can serve as a substitute for what I went through. -It has enough information to get started, with confidence. -It has enough information to take a report in the ICU. -It has enough information to understand ventilator settings in relation to the last ABG. -It has enough information to let you walk into a room, look at the patient, look at the ventilator and quickly know if the ventilator settings and patient behavior are consistent with the report. -It gives you a headstart toward learning the alarms and how to respond to the patient and machine.
About the Author: Malcolm Rosenberg, RN began his career as a nurse and nurse educator after receiving his Associates Degree from Broward Community College in 1989. He has worked in many medical and surgical areas including orthopedic, telemetry, oncology, as well as the ICU, recovery and emergency rooms. Prior to becoming a nurse, Malcolm was trained as a mechanical engineer and worked for 10 years in aircraft design and manufacturing. In that setting he began to appreciate the value of using simple diagrams and cartoons to learn and communicate complex dynamic processes. That learning was put to use when Malcolm was asked to teach continuing education courses for hospital nurses. He decided to create these courses primarily through the use of simple sketches and a light-hearted approach to learning. Since he wanted his students to understand the content without being overly concerned with note taking, he put together handouts for the students of exactly what was on the overhead projector. Those packages then became these books. Malcolm Rosenberg lives in Florida with Sandy, his adoring wife, Sandy's mom, Flo, their son, Alex, two dogs and three cats. His older son Craig lives in Georgia with his wife Tara. Please feel free to contact Malcolm via email: malcolmrosenberg1@gmail.com or by phone: 954-802-7539.