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Perspective of Emergency Pediatric Nurses Triaging Pediatric Patients in the Emergency Department: A Phenomenographic
Insights
Emergency nurses use specific approaches and strategies when triaging pediatric patients with the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale. Nurse experience is key for effective pediatric emergency care and highlights the need for specialized training programs.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Nursing
- Healthcare Quality
Background:
- Triage is vital in emergency departments for prioritizing care with limited resources.
- Pediatric patients present unique challenges in triage due to developmental differences.
- Emergency nurse competency is critical for effective pediatric triage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how emergency nurses triage pediatric patients.
- To investigate strategies used with the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study using phenomenography.
- Eleven emergency nurses from a university hospital's pediatric emergency department participated.
- Purposive sampling was employed for participant recruitment.
Main Results:
- Identified 6 approaches (categories of how) nurses use to triage pediatric patients.
- Identified 3 strategies (categories of what) nurses employ during pediatric triage.
- Findings reveal diverse understanding and application of the KTAS in pediatric settings.
Conclusions:
- Emergency nurse experience and proficiency significantly impact pediatric patient triage effectiveness.
- The study highlights the need for tailored pediatric triage education programs.
- Findings provide qualitative insights into pediatric triage practices.
Introduction:
Triage, a process to determine illness severity, is implemented by emergency nurses to prioritize treatment and provide care for a maximum number of patients using limited resources. The competency of emergency nurses and a highly reliable triage are crucial for the provision of emergency care. Pediatric patients are different from adult patients in certain aspects, such as growth-phase characteristics, communication ability, and the onset of disease; these aspects often pose challenges during their primary triage. This study explored how emergency nurses triage pediatric patients using the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale.
Methods:
Eleven emergency nurses (N = 11) working in the pediatric emergency department of a university hospital in Seoul, South Korea, were recruited using purposive sampling methods. Phenomenography was used to investigate the strategies by which these nurses use the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale to triage pediatric patients.
Results:
The findings comprised 2 descriptive categories: 6 approaches on how to triage patients (categories of how) and 3 strategies (categories of what) used by pediatric emergency nurses to triage pediatric patients with the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale.
Discussion:
The experience and proficiency of emergency nurses are essential factors for the effective triage of pediatric patients. Our findings qualitatively elucidate different ways of understanding pediatric triage and indicate the need for pediatric triage education programs.
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