Telephone Triage Simulation Activity for Prelicensure Nursing Students.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Simulation
• Outpatient Care

Background:

• The evolving healthcare landscape necessitates enhanced nursing education.
• Telephone triage skills differ significantly from in-person patient assessments.
• Prelicensure nursing students require training in outpatient telephone triage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a classroom simulation on nursing students' telephone triage knowledge.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a simulated telephone triage experience on nursing students' skills.

Main Methods:

• A classroom simulation focused on outpatient telephone triage protocols for lower respiratory illness was developed.
• Nursing students participated in simulated patient encounters.
• Students completed documentation, reported to a provider, and filled out the Simulation Effectiveness Tool-Modified.

Main Results:

• A high percentage of students (88%) found the telephone triage and outpatient nursing education beneficial.
• Student-rated learning of pathophysiology and patient teaching scored lowest.
• A significant number of students demonstrated inaccurate patient encounter documentation.

Conclusions:

• Curricular enhancements are recommended for accurate documentation in telephone triage.
• Opportunities to improve pathophysiology and patient teaching components within the curriculum were identified.
• The study highlights areas for refining nursing education in outpatient telephone triage.