Emergency department (ED) plays a critical role in the healthcare sector, mainly due to the increasing number of patients who are admitted for emergency-related conditions or complications. Currently, EDs is essential for the delivery of both acute ambulatory and inpatient care. I appreciate the importance of EDs because I had the opportunity to work in such a department as an emergency nurse. Healthcare sector cannot be effective without a well-functioning emergency department.
I now know and understand the duties and responsibilities of an emergency nurse, especially after having worked in the same position in ED. The primary role of an emergency nurse is to promptly attend to the injuries or illness of patients who are admitted in ED. Specifically, emergency nurses mainly focus on the assessment of patients with serious illnesses, as well as life-threatening injuries. In addition, based on what I learned, emergency nurse relay critical information to doctors about patients who are admitted in the emergency department. There were also instances when I had to describe at-home treatment for patients who had been discharged from the department. Thus, emergency nurses play a critical role in EDs.
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However, emergency nurses work closely with other medical personnel in EDs to ensure quality care for patients. An emergency physician is one of the major emergency room personnel who offers specialized treatment to various patients. I realized that the major role of the emergency physician is to offer an immediate assessment of the patients and to oversee their recovery process. Also, ED relies on an emergency physician to develop an effective patient care plan. At the same time, I worked with mental health experts whose main role was to conduct a prompt mental health assessment of patients who have been admitted in ED. An emergency room is also made up of radiographers who provide ex-ray services.
Many conditions are treated in the emergency department. However, the most common conditions include accident injuries that require immediate care, severe headache, acute respiratory infections, and urinary tract infections. In many cases, people who have been involved in fatal accidents are admitted in the EDs. Also, I noticed that the number of patients who were admitted to the emergency department due to fever was high. Patients with severe health conditions are often admitted to the emergency department.
According to what I learned in the ED, priority assessment is based on the severity of the health conditions. Emergency personnel gave priority to patients with illnesses or injuries that required immediate care. Also, I realized that the first priority was given to children who were suffering from severe illnesses whose delay in providing care could result in deterioration or death. Thus, the priority of assessment is based on the severity of injury or illness.
Triage is a common process in the emergency department. Triage is the process of sorting patients who are admitted in the ED based on their need for immediate care. Triage ensures that patients who require immediate attention are given priority in the ED. A triage nurse is responsible for the implementation of the triage process in the emergency department. Specifically, triage nurse assesses patients and determines their level of needs for treatment or medical assistance.
Finally, based on the article "A review of triage accuracy and future direction " by Tam Chung and Lou Chi (2018), the effectiveness of the emergency department largely relies on triage. The article makes it clear that the accuracy of triage decision determined the quality and appropriateness of services that are offered in the emergency department significantly. Although many nurses are aware of the triage process, they still need frequent refresher triage training, which should be led by experts in the field. According to the article, emergency nurses should be subjected to triage training to improve the quality of care in emergency departments.
References
Tam, H. L., Chung, S. F., & Lou, C. K. (2018). A review of triage accuracy and future direction. BMC emergency medicine , 18 (1), 1-7.
