[Nurse decision making in triage cose assignment: a qualitative descriptive study].

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Nursing Practice
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Improving Emergency Department (ED) quality, patient satisfaction, and safety is crucial.
• Understanding nurses' triage decision-making aids in developing effective EDs and supporting staff.
• This study explores factors influencing nurses' triage decision-making processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the factors influencing nurses' decision-making in the emergency department triage process.
• To identify key elements that contribute to priority code assignment during patient triage.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative descriptive approach was employed.
• Two focus groups were conducted with 20 nurses.
• Content data analysis was performed on the collected data.

Main Results:

• Nurse decision-making is affected by patient condition (symptoms, risk, frailty), organizational setting (patient flow, environment, support), and nurse experience (intuition, responsibility).
• Nurses balance protocol adherence with ED responsiveness and seek peer feedback for priority code assignment.
• Triage involves a complex interplay of patient, organizational, and individual factors.

Conclusions:

• Triage is a complex, dynamic process influenced by multiple intersecting factors.
• Contingent situations continuously affect nursing decisions in triage.
• Effective triage requires considering patient status, organizational context, and nurse expertise.