What is the primary concern for a nurse regarding a patient's respiratory status on a ventilator?

Monitoring for alarms indicating distress is crucial for a nurse caring for a patient on a ventilator because these alarms are designed to alert healthcare providers to immediate and potentially life-threatening problems. Alarms can indicate issues such as disconnections, high or low airway pressures, and oxygen desaturation, all of which require prompt assessment and intervention to ensure the patient's safety and effective respiratory function.

While ensuring adequate sedation, monitoring for respiratory infections, and evaluating ventilator settings are important aspects of patient care, they are secondary when the immediate physiological status of the patient might be compromised. The presence of an alarm typically demands immediate attention to address critical changes in the patient's condition, making it the top priority in this scenario.