Knowledge regarding Mechanical Ventilation and Practice of Ventilatory Care among Nurses in General Pulmonary and Medical Wards

Medical intervention with mechanical ventilation becomes the priority in treatment of respiratory failure. As there are increase in number of patients needing mechanical ventilation in general wards in recent years, the knowledge of the nurses in these wards regarding care of patients on mechanical ventilator becomes a vital necessity. The study was initiated towards facilitating the independent role of a staff nurse in ventilatory care of patients in the general wards. The study aimed to assess knowledge regarding mechanical ventilation and practice of ventilatory care by nursesin general Pulmonary and Medical wards. A correlational study design is selected for this study. The study was conducted on registered staff nurses who were assigned to patients on mechanical ventilator. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 86 subjects. An investigator prepared questionnaire and an observation check list was used to assess knowledge and practice of nurses, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Of the subjects, 46.5 % had moderately adequate knowledge (score of 60-74 %). Practice was found to be inadequate among 93 % of the subjects (score