Triage level assignment and nurse characteristics and experience
- PMID: 29687670
Triage level assignment and nurse characteristics and experience
Abstract
Objectives: To study the relation between nursing staff demographics and experience and their assignment of triage level in the emergency department.
Material and methods: One-year retrospective observational study in the triage area of a tertiary care urban university hospital that applies the Andorran-Spanish triage model. Variables studied were age, gender, nursing experience, triage experience, shift, usual level of emergency work the nurse undertakes, number of triage decisions made, and percentage of patients assigned to each level.
Results: Fifty nurses (5 men, 45 women) with a mean (SD) age of 45 (9) years triaged 67 803 patients during the year. Nurses classified more patients in level 5 on the morning shift (7.9%) than on the afternoon shift (5.5%) (P=.003). The difference in the rate of level-5 triage classification became significant when nurses were older (β = 0.092, P=.037) and experience was greater (β = 0.103, P=.017). The number of triages recorded by a nurse was significantly and directly related to the percentage of patients assigned to level 3 (β = 0.003, P=.006) and inversely related to the percentages assigned to level 4 (β = -0.002, P=.008) and level 5 (β = -0.001, P=.017).
Conclusion: We found that triage level assignments were related to age, experience, shift, and total number of patients triaged by a nurse.
Objetivo: Investigar la relación entre las características demográficas y experiencia de los enfermeros que realizan triaje y la asignación de pacientes a un determinado nivel de urgencia.
Metodo: Estudio observacional retrospectivo llevado a cabo durante 1 año en el área de triaje de un hospital universitario terciario que usa el Model Andorrà de Triatge/Sistema Español de Triage (MAT/SET). Variables: edad, sexo, experiencia en enfermería, experiencia en triaje, turno de trabajo, nivel asistencial donde trabajaban, número de triajes realizados y porcentaje de pacientes asignados a cada nivel de triaje.
Resultados: Se incluyeron 50 enfermeros (5 hombres y 45 mujeres) con una edad de 45 (DE 9) años que efectuaron 67.803 triajes. Los enfermeros del turno mañana clasificaban más pacientes en el nivel 5 que las de turno tarde (7,9% frente a 5,5%, p = 0,003). Este mayor porcentaje en el nivel 5 también se registraba de forma significativa cuanta más edad tenía el enfermero (β = 0,092, p = 0,037) y cuanta mayor experiencia acumulaba (β = 0,103, p = 0,017). El número de triajes efectuados por cada enfermero se relacionó, significativa y directamente, con el porcentaje de pacientes clasificados en nivel 3 (β = 0,003, p = 0,006) e, inversamente, con el porcentaje de pacientes clasificados en nivel 4 (β = –0,002, p = 0,008) y en nivel 5 (β = –0,001, p = 0,017).
Conclusiones: Se ha objetivado una relación entre la edad, la experiencia acumulada, el turno de trabajo y el número total de triajes que efectúa un enfermero con el nivel de triaje asignado.
Keywords: Emergency health services; Enfermería; Nursing; Servicio de Urgencias; Triage; Triaje.
Comment in
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Emotional exhaustion in triage nurses and its relation to triage level.Emergencias. 2018 Oct;30(5):364-365. Emergencias. 2018. PMID: 30260132 English, Spanish. No abstract available.
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