The Ventilator Nurse Training (VeNT) Program

Building community capacity to care for children on chronic home ventilation through simulation training

A growing number of infants and children have chronic dependence on medical technology, such as a ventilator to help them breathe. Children on chronic home ventilation require an aware and alert caregier 24/7 due to risk of tracheostomy/ventilator malfunction resulting in serious complications, including death. Currently, pediatric home nurses who are trained to care for these children are in short supply. One contributing factor to this shortage identified but the 2019 Levi Leadership Symposium and our research study about pediatric home health care is training; there is a lack of standardized training across the State of Maryland, leaving agencies to recreate the wheel and develop their own curriculum. In response, we have formed a collaboration between Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, Johns Hopkins Children Center, and Johns Hopkins Pediatrics at Home to adapt Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital’s parent training curriculum to train pediatric private duty nurses across the state.

Objectives

• Develop high-quality curriculum about chronic home ventilation for pediatric private duty nurses
• Disseminate curriculum (e.g. simulation scenarios) to nurse educators from across the State of Maryland
• Evaluate use and effectiveness of the training materials and curriculum

Methodology & Progress

Pediatric private duty nurse educators/supervisors from agencies covering the entire state of Maryland attended virtual real-time simulation training sessions. The simulations occurred in Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital’s simulation lab and were led by respiratory therapists from Mount Washington and Johns Hopkins Pediatrics at Home. Nurse educator participants received materials and curriculum guides to bring back to their agencies for training use. Participants completed pre, post, and follow-up surveys.

Core Team