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Effect of Emergency Severity Index Annual Competency Assessment on Mistriage
Stefanie Hoffman1, Jo A Voss, Lori Hendrickx
1Sanford Acute Care, Sanford Sports Complex Acute Care, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Dr Hoffman); College of Nursing, South Dakota State University, Rapid City (Dr Voss); South Dakota State University College of Nursing-Aberdeen Campus, Aberdeen (Dr Hendrickx); and North Central Heart Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Dr Gibson).
Background:
There is limited evidence identifying best practices to promote competency of accurate assignment of the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) acuity level to patients who present to the emergency department (ED) triage.
Local Problem:
Triage-trained nurses do not receive competency training in an ESI triage tool.
Methods:
A retrospective chart review of 150 patients was completed to evaluate mistriage rates before and after triage-trained nurses completed an ESI competency assessment.
Results:
The retrospective chart review showed no statistically significant difference in mistriage from pre- to postintervention ( P = .8535).
Conclusions:
Implementation of an ESI annual competency assessment aligns well with an emerging theme in the literature that ED nurses should be provided with ongoing education that reinforces knowledge and implementation of ESI triaging.
