Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2026
Setting Up a Stroke Team Algorithm and Conducting Simulation-based Training in the Emergency Department - A Practical Guide
Published on: January 15, 2017
Effect of clinician designation on emergency department fast track performance
Julie Considine1, Matthew Kropman, Helen E Stergiou
1Deakin University-Northern Health Clinical Partnership, School of Nursing, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia. julie.considine@deakin.edu.au
Objective:
To examine the effect of clinician designation on emergency department (ED) fast track performance.
Design And Setting:
A retrospective audit of patients managed in the fast track area of an ED in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia.
Participants:
Patients triaged to ED fast track from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008 (n=8714).
Main Outcome Measures:
Waiting times in relation to Australasian triage scale (ATS) recommendations and ED length of stay (LOS) for non-admitted patients were examined for each clinician group.
Results:
Compliance with ATS waiting time recommendations was highest (82.5%) for emergency nurse practitioners/candidates and lowest (48.2%) for junior medical officers. Median ED LOS was less than 3 h for non-admitted patients, and 85.8% of non-admitted fast track patients (n=6278) left the ED within 4 h. Patients managed by emergency nurse practitioners/candidates had the shortest ED LOS (median 1.7 h) and patients managed by junior medical officers and locum medical officers the longest ED LOS (median 2.7 h) (χ(2)=498.539, df=6, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
Clinician designation does impact on waiting times and, to a lesser extent, ED LOS for patients managed in ED fast track systems. Future research should focus on obtaining a better understanding of the relationship between clinician expertise, time-based performance measures and quality of care indicators.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Standards of Care I
01:15Methods of Documentation VI: Case Management Model
For example, a patient with a chronic illness...
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
01:30Methods of Documentation VII: EMR
01:23Methods of Documentation V: CBE
In CBE, healthcare professionals establish predefined standards of practice that define what constitutes...
01:26Methods of Documentation IV: Focus Charting
It typically involves three columns for recording information: