Triage decision-making skills: a necessity for all nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Education
• Clinical Decision Making

Background:

• Effective triage decision-making is a critical nursing skill.
• Nurses must prioritize patient care based on accurate initial assessments.
• Existing tools may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of triage decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present pilot study data for the Triage Decision-Making Inventory.
• To measure critical thinking, cognitive characteristics, intuition, and experience in nurse triage.
• To establish the reliability and validity of this new assessment tool.

Main Methods:

• Pilot study involving nurses from diverse specialties.
• Administration of the Triage Decision-Making Inventory.
• Statistical analysis to establish instrument reliability and validity.

Main Results:

• Preliminary data suggest the Triage Decision-Making Inventory can reliably and validly measure key components of triage decision-making.
• The instrument assesses critical thinking, cognitive characteristics, intuition, and experience.
• Findings support the inventory's potential utility across various nursing specialties.

Conclusions:

• The Triage Decision-Making Inventory shows promise as a tool for assessing nursing triage skills.
• Staff development experts can use this inventory to customize training programs.
• Improved training can enhance nurses' ability to prioritize patient care effectively.