Working with Manchester triage -- job satisfaction in nursing

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Nursing Studies
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Investigates job satisfaction among nurses working in emergency department triage settings in Western Sweden.
• Addresses the critical role of triage nurses in patient flow and initial care within emergency departments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the level of job satisfaction experienced by triage nurses.
• To identify factors contributing to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
• To gather nurses' perspectives on the Manchester Triage System (MTS) and its development.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire with 37 open-ended questions was administered to 74 triage nurses.
• Quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics and covariance measurement.
• Qualitative analysis involved content analysis of the nurses' responses.

Main Results:

• A significant majority (88%) of nurses reported high job satisfaction.
• Key contributors to satisfaction included the triage method itself, the interesting nature of the work, and autonomy in tasks.
• Factors contributing to dissatisfaction included heavy workload and perceived lack of competence.

Conclusions:

• The structured triage model may not fully capture the nuances of experienced nurses' assessments.
• Over-reliance on the model can potentially lead to misjudgments impacting patient care.
• Nurses expressed a need for regular scenario-based training and active involvement in refining triage tools.