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Role of the Triage Nurse
A nurse performing triage must have an appropriate level of knowledge and skills to perform the role. Nurses have a legal and professional duty to perform the role of Triage Nurse utilising a systematic approach.
Emergency Nurses, as professionals, are accountable for their practice. The accountability comes from the utilisation of available protocols, the completion of the correct documentation, and adherence to standards and quality guidelines. Protocols ideally help in the maintenance of a consistently high standard of care at the institution and can be utilised if necessary to provide evidence of the clinical practice encouraged at the health care facility.
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The physiological discriminators and Australasian Triage Scale( ATS) are examples of the guidelines that are available for the nurse to utilise. It is not assumed that following protocols blindly will protect the nurse from any legal liability. With this in mind, consideration should also be given to the autonomy of the role, with use made of the Triage Nurses’ independent judgement for each triage episode, and the ability to utilise his or her expertise to individualise the assessment of the patient.
Protocols should be viewed as the minimum standard of care required to be delivered. Position statements that describe the roles and responsibilities of the Triage Nurse including the minimum practice standard have been produced by the professional bodies.
All nurses should know some basic legal principles, which include consent, the elements of negligence, definition and sources of the standards of care, and how policies and guidelines can influence practice. There is an expectation that the nurse performing the role of the Triage Nurse will have had adequate experience, training and supervision to perform the role. The employing institution also has a responsibility to ensure that the staff are adequately prepared to perform the role.
Consent
The five elements of consent are as follows: 1. Consent must be given voluntarily.
2. A person must have the legal capacity to give consent.
3. Consent should be informed. 4. Consent must be specific. 5. Consent must cover what is actually done.
Department of Health and Ageing – Emergency Triage Education Kit