‘I Sorted, I Triaged’: Notes of an Emergency Nurse
Trauma and triage in the ED.
Today, I was assigned to be one of just two triage nurses in the emergency department (ED) waiting room. With a limited staff and nearly full department, our next wave of patients arrived. I collected health information from the patients, screened for domestic violence and suicidality, made a triage decision regarding acuity level, and assigned an ED destination based on bed availability and estimation of resources.
Then, a man was wheeled in, with a woman close behind screaming “a car ran over his legs!” I saw an open bleeding wound on his right lower leg. I brought him to the trauma room.
The woman said to me, “I don’t think I can walk anymore.” I asked her if the car hit her too, and she replied, “yes, the car hit me too.”
As a trauma nurse, I stayed to help the trauma staff with the simultaneous trauma cases. Then I went back to the waiting room.
I prioritized.
More patients arrived, seeking assistance for many different needs. Then my charge nurse came out and informed me that I was needed back in the trauma room to receive an incoming patient who had fallen down a 15-foot ravine. Nursing resources were reallocated as needed […]