Relationships among the Range of Discretion, Practical Ability, and Desired Range of Discretion for Nurses Involved with Endotracheal Intubation and Ventilator Management

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationships among the range of discretion, practical ability, and desired range of discretion for nurses involved with endotracheal intubation and ventilator management. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on 285 nurses who were frequently involved with endotracheal intubation and ventilator management. Cramer’s V was used to analyze the survey findings. The results indicated that, as far as endotracheal intubation and ventilator management were concerned, nurses developed the practical ability based on their current range of discretion, and the desired range of discretion did not exceed the current range of discretion. The number of years of experience in ventilator management was investigated as a related factor, and this parameter exhibited a correlation to the practical ability in ten of the twelve items and to the desired range of discretion in only one of the twelve items. In addition, differences in the range of discretion among the various workplaces correlated to the practical ability and desired range of discretion.