Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2025

Setting Up a Stroke Team Algorithm and Conducting Simulation-based Training in the Emergency Department - A Practical Guide
Published on: January 15, 2017
Goals of care in the Wellington Emergency Department: a clinical audit
Jesse Cain1, Brad Peckler2, Sinéad Donnelly3
1Emergency Medicine Senior House Officer, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand.
Aims:
To determine how often goals of care (GOC) are being discussed with older patients in the emergency department (ED).
Methods:
This clinical audit included 300 presentations of patients aged 80 years and over in the Wellington ED. The timeframe was from 1 July to 17 July 2021. Electronic records were interrogated for GOC discussions.
Results:
Most older patients (62%) did not have a GOC discussion in the ED. Of patients over the age of 80 who had a GOC discussion in the emergency department, only 14% of those discussions were initiated by ED clinicians.
Conclusions:
There are no current standards for GOC within the ED and this should be established for further research. Protocols and education regarding facilitating GOC discussions in the ED could be established to improve the frequency of GOC discussions.
Related Concept Videos
Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
Ethical Dilemmas II
Standards of Care II
Nursing Evaluation
Standards of Care I
Patient-centered Care

