Program implementation
The process for implementing the program involves the following steps:
1. Selection of appropriate participants. The selection of participants to undertake the program will be informed by local policy. Individual organisations will be responsible for setting criteria with respect to the level of emergency experience and qualifications required for entry into the program. Importantly, there is no minimum number of participants required; however it is desirable for participants to have opportunities for group discussions with their peers during the program.
2. Implementation of the lesson plans. The implementation of the lesson plans involves the completion of a series of structured learning activities. Each of the 10 lesson plans comprises learning objectives, a synopsis of the literature relevant to the topics discussed, teaching strategies including learning activities, multiple-choice questions, discussion points and / or patient scenarios, and a list of additional resources for use by participants. The final two chapters consolidate and test the participant’ s knowledge.
Successful completion of the program is at the discretion of the instructor *. In settings where there is no infrastructure for triage training, the program can be used as a self-paced learning resource, with participants working through the readings and learning activities in a structured way.
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Definitions
Triage system: The process by which a clinician assesses a patient’ s clinical urgency.
Triage: A triage system is the basic structure in which all incoming patients are categorised into groups using a standard urgency rating scale or structure. 3
Re-triage: Clinical status is a dynamic state for all patients. If clinical status changes in a way that will impact upon the triage category, or if additional information becomes available that will influence urgency( see below), then re-triage must occur. When a patient is re-triaged, the initial triage code and any subsequent triage code must be documented. The reason for re-triaging must also be documented. 2, 6
Urgency: Urgency is determined according to the patient’ s clinical condition and is used to‘ determine the speed of intervention that is necessary to achieve an optimal outcome’. 4 Urgency is independent of the severity or complexity of an illness or injury. 5 For example, patients may be triaged to a lower urgency rating because it is safe for them to wait for an emergency assessment, even though they may still eventually require a hospital admission for their condition or have significant morbidity and attendant mortality. 2
* The instructor will be the nominated person within the organisation who is responsible for clinical development of nurses providing emergency care.
Department of Health and Ageing – Emergency Triage Education Kit