• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2014

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to provide appropriate direction for triage education by investigating the knowledge level of triage in 119 EMTs before and after the triage education. Methods : The questionnaire was filled out by newly assigned 33 EMTs in the fire service academy in I metropolitan city from November 1, 2013. The data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 21.0 program. Results : The lowest knowledge level by 119 triage was the potential emergency related question, but that by case-based triage was the semi-emergency related questions. The knowledge score by case-based triage before education was 51.14 points. This was lower than knowledge score by 119 triage, that is, 75.70 points. After education, the knowledge level by 119 triage was significantly improved(p =.000). However, there was no significant difference in the knowledge level by case-based triage(p =.236). Conclusion : It is necessary to provide systematic and periodic education and training for 119 EMTs toward triage to improve triage accuracy and efficient circulation of the emergency medical service system. Especially, it is very important to provide case-based triage education for field application.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.41-52
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• 2017

Purpose : This concept analysis identified attributes and defined triage competency among emergency nurses. Method : Walker and Avant's approach was used to guide the concept analysis. A literature review was completed including 26 studies, 5 reports of related associations, and 5 books. Results : The concept of triage competency in emergency nurses was identified as five attributes: clinical judgment, expert assessment, management of medical resources, timely decision, and communication. Antecedents of the concept were triage education and emergency room experience. The consequences of the concept were efficiency of care, patient rating, and safety. Triage competency in emergency nurses was defined as the comprehensive ability to prioritize patients' urgency and allocate limited medical resources. Conclusion : This study is meaningful since it clarified triage competency among emergency nurses. The attributes and empirical indicators of this study will likely lay the foundation for development of triage competency metrics.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.94-102
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine triage nurses' the Korean triage and acuity scale(KTAS) performance ability, perception of importance, education needs and identify the factors influencing triage nurses' the KTAS performance ability. Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted among 146 emergency nurses working in 13 hospitals from March to May, 2017. Data were collected utilizing a questionnaire developed to measure performance ability, perception of importance, and educational needs of 192 items of the KTAS. Statistical analysis included t-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results: The triage nurses' the KTAS performance ability was rated as 3.3/4.0 points, perception of importance as 3.2/4.0 points, and education needs as 3.1/4.0 points. Factors influencing the KTAS performance of the participants were perception of importance, education needs, and work experience at the emergency department, explaining 26.7% of total variance. Conclusion: The KTAS performance ability of triage nurses could be improved through training programs designed to enhance their perception of importance and provide knowledge about the KTAS. Nurses' emergency department work experience needs to be considered as an important factor for the KTAS performance ability.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

The study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the triage training program utilizing pre-and post-training experiments designed for 119 emergency medical services teams. Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of triage training programs on the accuracy of triage performed by 119 emergency medical services team staff who participated in the triage training program. Behavior: Participants in this study included 119 of the 166 EMS staff. In this program, a modified START triage consisting of a 20-minute theoretical presentation was presented to the participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. Results: A significant increase in triage accuracy for 119 EMS teams(p<.001). And undertriage showed a significant decrease(p<.001). In addition, overtriage showed a decrease but was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The results obtained from this study showed that the triage training program was effective in improving the accuracy of the triage of multiple injury patients or disaster victims when presented to the 119 emergency medical services team. Therefore, these results suggest that it would be helpful to add triage training to the fire department's formal training program.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.122-130
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• 2022

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the professional competency of nurses working in emergency medical institutions that use the Korean Triage Acuity Scale (KTAS), and to identify factors that affect them. Methods: This study collected data from 105 nurses working in emergency medical institutions from June to August 2020. For data analysis, descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression were performed using the SPSS 25.0 program. Results: As for the professional competency in triage, the higher the self-efficacy (β= 0.58, p< .001), the more experience they have in triage-related education (β= 0.30, p< .001), 2-4 years of clinical experience in emergency department (β= 0.19, p= .002), in case of triage alone (β= 0.24, p< .001), the higher the level of education a nurse has (β= 0.19, p= .003), the higher the professional competency in triage. These variables explained professional competency in a total of 64.2% of the participants (F = 38.30, p< .001). Conclusion: To improve nurses' professional competence in triage, introducing manpower expansion, financial support, and the provision of appropriate places is suggested. In addition, it is necessary to repeatedly provide educational opportunities in an environment similar to actual clinical practice by developing various scenarios and introducing simulations and web-based formats.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.171-180
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• 2019

Purpose: The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) is a tool used to classify the severity and urgency of emergency department (ED) patients, focusing on their symptoms. In consideration of the importance of the KTAS, a web-based learning program has emerged as a new mode of education; it enables ED triage nurses to access it anytime and anywhere, and according to their own learning abilities. This study aimed to develop a web-based KTAS learning program and evaluate its effects on self-efficacy and triage performance ability in ED nurses. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest was used. The conceptual framework was Bandura's self-efficacy theory. There were 30 participants in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. The experimental group attended an orientation and 4 sessions of a web-based KTAS learning program. The learning program lasted 280 minutes over five weeks, consisting of 40 minutes of orientation and four 60-minute sessions. Results: The scores of self-efficacy, triage performance ability in KTAS level, and chief complaints significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. In addition, the numbers of under-triage in KTAS significantly decreased in the experimental group in comparison to the control group. Conclusion: The results suggest that the learning program was effective in improving ED nurses' level of self-efficacy and triage performance ability (KTAS level and KTAS chief complaint). Accordingly, the web-based KTAS learning program can be applied as an education intervention to improve ED nurses' triage skill.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.264-274
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• 2001

About the patients who visited the emergency department of a hospital, investigative study was performed to assess and to classify them with triage tool, and to estimate the characteristics of them. 210 patients older than 15 years were investigated. Among them 11 patients who had responded inappropriately were excluded and remaining 210 patients were chosen as study subjects. Investigation had been performed for 30 days from Jan. 10, 2001 to Feb. 9, 2001. The triage tool was designed through the modification of triage tools developed by Kim and Choi. The data were analyzed with the SPSS program using mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, ANOVA and Scheffe's test. The results were as follows: 1. Of the characteristics of the study subjects, mean age of patients were 55.76 years and 70-79 years group which included 41 patients(20.6%) were most numerous. 101 (51.8%) patients visited emergency room by 119 emergency service and 91(45.7%) patients walked with assistance. 127 patients were cared in internal medicine department. 2. The distribution of triage scores were from minimum 6 points to maximum 18 points with mean $13.76{\pm}2.58$ points. 3. Triage scores had significant relationship with age(F=13.349,P=0.000), visiting method (F=8.832, P=0.000), walking status(F=28.185, p=0.000), care department(F=2.596, P=0.019), and preexisting disease(F=12.012, P=0.000). 4. After trage there were no urgent patient, 35 emergent patients(17.6%),109 subemergent patients(54.8%), and 55 nonemergent patients (27.6%). The result of emergency care were 80 admission(40.2%), 59 discharge (29.6%), 34 ICU admission(17.1%), 14 transfer to other hospital(7%), 10 operation (5%), and 2 death (2%). 5. About the time required for triage, mean duration to triage were $7.54{\pm}2.28$ mins in emergent patients, mean $7.23{\pm}2.50$ mins in subemergent patients and mean $6.49{\pm}2.19$ mins in nonemergent patients. There were no differences in duration to triage according to the severity of triage. 6. Time required in emergency treatment were mean $116.23{\pm}88.10$ in emergent patients mean $101.61{\pm}73.27$ in subemergent patients and mean $81.56{\pm}61.01$ in nonemergent patients. There were no significant difference among groups. This study depicted that triage scores were below the middle level and there were many geriatric patients in this hospital. Among the characteristics of patients, age, visiting method, walking status, care department, and accompanying disease could be data for triage of emergency patients. With triage score of a patient, the outcome of emergency care of a patient could be anticipated and this could be basal data in determining the priority of emergency nursing.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.477-489
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess emergency room nurses' knowledge and performance of triage nursing. Methods: The instrument was developed through the stages of conceptual construction, item development, and validity and reliability testing. For the validity and reliability testing, data collected from 48 emergency room nurses using questionnaires was analyzed through descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and reliability coefficients. Results: The knowledge part consisted of 30 items in nine areas, and its reliability was low (KR-20 =0.50). The correct-answer rate was 71.8%. The performance section derived from the factor analysis was composed of two factors with nine items in the triage domain and three factors with 12 items in the non triage domain. The explanatory powers of these factors for the domains were 66.1% and 70.4%, respectively. The overall reliability (Cronbach's ${\alpha}$) was .95, and the reliabilities for the two domains were .88 and .91, respectively. The nurses' mean performance level was 3.2(${\pm}0.45$). Conclusion: The specific contents of the triage nursing work were identified from the developed scale; further research is necessary to in order to develop a scale capable of higher reliability and validity.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify thinking strategies in the complicated decision-making process based on real patient-based data of triage nurses in the emergency department (ED). Methods: This study used the 'think aloud' method to collect data from 8 triage nurses from one general hospital ED in South Korea. The data were analyzed with protocol analysis using thinking strategies. Results: The triage process was divided into three stages. The first stage consisted of 8 thinking strategies, including searching for information. They used intuition based on directly observed concepts for identifying a crisis. The second stage consisted of 17 thinking strategies related to the decision-making process. They assessed patients and generated a hypothesis to try to understand their health problems through analytic thinking. The third stage consisted of 10 thinking strategies, including qualifying. They considered the situation of the ED and properly triaged the patients. During the triage process, they frequently used judging the value and searching for information on 17 thinking strategies. Conclusions: Triage nurses demonstrated various connected thinking strategies for each stage. Based on our results, further studies should be done to develop a triage education program.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.176-186
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe work experiences of triage nurses working at emergency departments in Korea. Methods: A qualitative descriptive research method was used. Twenty-one nurses of emergency department participated in the first interview and 16 of them participated in the second interview. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and field notes. Qualitative content analysis was utilized to analyze the data. Results: Forty-eight codes, 12 categories, and six themes emerged from the data analysis: caring on the frontline, burden as an initial evaluator, handling things alone, lack of others' understanding, becoming an expert, and needs for improvement. Participating triage nurses faced many challenges and difficult situations in emergency departments. They felt burden and loneliness as initial evaluator. Also, they felt pride in their work and struggled to become a professional. Conclusion: This study is the first qualitative study that has focused on exploring the experiences of triage nurses in emergency departments in Korea. The results provide description and in-depth understanding of working experiences of triage nurses. The results provide valuable fundamental data for regulation, clinical practice, education, and research for triage nurses in Korean emergency departments.