Bedside procedures

How to give tracheostomy care

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Keep spare tubes and suction at the bedside at all times.

Step by step

  1. Emergency kit

    Spare trach tubes (same and smaller), obturator, suction, oxygen. [1]

  2. Prepare

    Explain, suction if needed, oxygenate. [1]

  3. Inner cannula

    Replace or clean per type. [1]

  4. Stoma

    Clean with saline from the stoma outward, dry. [1]

  5. Dressing

    Pre-cut trach dressing; never cut gauze. [1]

  6. Ties

    Change with a second person holding the tube; one finger under the ties. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  2. OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.