Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Accurate trauma triage is imperative to facilitate appropriate resource mobilization for severely injured trauma patients. A critical window of opportunity exists to prevent secondary injury or death. Timely assessment with a multidisciplinary trauma team is essential to facilitate rapid diagnosis and treatment. However, consistent and accurate trauma triage proved daunting at our institution, resulting in instances of undertriage. ⋯ Designating trauma triage to an ED registered nurse proved to reduce undertriage rates. By providing staff education, infrastructure improvements, and leadership support, the role continues to thrive, resulting in improved care for severely injured trauma patients.
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Disaster education is important for everyone and especially nurses. Being informed, making individual and family communication plans, and creating the needed supplies to shelter in place or evacuate for one's self and family are required core readiness behaviors. Nurses also need to understand their role within the employer's emergency plans and incident command structure. All of these behaviors help the nurse to be ready and available to care for patients during disaster and emergency incidents.