Nurses' and doctors' perceptions of triage at the Accident and Emergency Department

Abstract

The aim of this exploratory study was to explore nurses' and doctors' views on the current triage system at the local A&E Department. The sample consisted of 45 nurses and 19 doctors working at the A&E department, and a response rate of 57.8% was achieved. Data was collected by means of a self-designed postal questionnaire, which was piloted on a sample of 2 nurses and 2 doctors working at the A&E department. Six major factors emerged from the findings; the triage practitioner, training, experience, triage guidelines, number of triage categories and patient reevaluation during waiting time. Findings revealed that most participants considered triage as a nurses' role and thus the most appropriate person to perform triage duties was perceived as the nurse. Furthermore, most participants believed that the nurse should be a registered nurse as a higher level of training and knowledge is required. While most nurses and doctors participating in the study felt competent and confident enough to perform triage duties, they still maintained that experience and education were very important. Most participants agreed that at least 2 years experience at the A&E department is required and is an important part of training before engaging in the triage role. However, the findings also revealed that most participants felt that they did not receive enough education and considered formal education and speciality training as equally important. Another important factor identified in the study was that triage guidelines currently available were not formal, and most participants felt that they should be formalised and training on them should be available. Most participants also maintained that the current process required some changes, to be more efficient and effective in meeting patients' needs. The two major changes identified in this study were the change in number of categories from 3 to 4 or 5 categories and the introduction of patient re-evaluation after initial triage.