Characteristics, insights, decision making, and preparation of ED triage nurses.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe characteristics, insights, and decision making of expert emergency nurses practicing in a triage environment.

Methods: A qualitative, descriptive study design was used. A purposive sample of 10 expert nurses from 2 midwestern emergency departments was recruited for 2 separate focus groups. After transcribing from audiotapes, the data were collapsed to reflect the responses of participants from each focus group to each of the 6 questions asked.

Results: A variety of themes emerged from the data to describe the decision-making characteristics of triage nurses from the perspective of the expert emergency nurse.

Discussion: Expert triage nurses discussed the characteristics that they deemed important in themselves and in those they worked with, such as intuition, assessment abilities, good communication, and critical thinking. The participants strongly verbalized the need for more formal education and emergency nursing experience for new triage nurses. Positive reinforcement from management for timely and accurate decision making was also an important topic.