Triage Nurse Tips: Here’s What You Need to Know

• Whether you are working virtually or in person, triaging is one of the most important roles in healthcare.
  

• But what are the essential criteria to remember during triaging a patient? What happens when the demand is high, and you do not know who to triage first?  

• It can’t hurt to brush up on your triage nurse tips any time! So why not start now?

Whether you are working virtually or in person, triaging is one of the most important roles in healthcare. 

 Triage nurses are usually positioned in an ER or urgent care setting and are responsible for assessing patients, determining their level of need for medical attention, providing appropriate patient education, and communicating current and changing statuses with physicians.  

They are constantly evaluating criteria, such as a patient’s type of injury or illness, the severity of their symptoms, and their vital signs.  

But what are the essential criteria to remember? What happens when the demand is high, and you do not know who to triage first?  

Don’t stress! We have all the information you need to refresh on your triaging skills! Check them out! 

1. Actively Listen to Your Patient’s History

You are the first point of contact when a patient enters the ER, and your role as the triage nurse is to determine the urgency of those in the waiting room.  

This can be a stressful position to be in, and understandably so. However, it is vital that you take the best patient history you can in order to determine which patients need medical attention first.  

2. Be Thorough, But Time-Efficient

Now more than ever, ERs are flooding with patients, and as the triage nurse, it is on you to ensure that patients are seen based on their necessity for care. 

When conducting a patient assessment, you must be thorough. Do not miss anything – it could have detrimental consequences.  

However, on the other hand, you must also possess the ability to see many patients in one shift, and unfortunately, these can be at alarming rates.  

Having a routine down for patient assessments will be vital in role, and this is one of the most important triage nurse tips you can take from this list.  

You may also need to reassess patients that are in the waiting room. 

3. Trust Your Gut

If something concerns you, act on it – I cannot stress this enough. 

If a patient who you thought was okay to wait longer than one who was experiencing MI symptoms but now appears to be worsening, reassess, use your skillset to stabilize them and find a physician.  

Life or death scenarios will happen often, and you must be prepared for this at any time, so trust your gut and the nursing knowledge you’ve gained.  

4. Smile (it promotes patient comfort)

Times are tough for nurses. I totally understand. 

Even in the darkest hours, it can be hard to smile. However, you are going to see a lot of scared patients and their families.  

The least you can do is comfort them with a smiling face, it truly does make a difference.  

5. Know Your Facility’s Protocols

This is one of the most important triage nurse tips!

Of course, every facility is different, and I cannot speak for all of them, so it is best just to say that reviewing your protocols is a must. 

With technologies arising in healthcare every year, it is in your best interest to stay up to date with your ER’s triaging processes and guidelines to ensure that you are providing the best possible care and experience to patients. 

I hope these tips help you! If you have been working triage and have some helpful tips, reach out and let us know, we would love to add them to our list!  

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