Experiences of nurses working in a triage area: An integrative review

Objectives: The aim of the study is to review the literature on the experiences of nurses working in triage within emergency departments in hospitals. Review method: This is an integrative review based on Cooper's five-stage framework. Data sources: Primary research articles published from January 2008 to January 2018 were identified from seven databases: PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, Cochrane, ProQuest, and Scopus. A manual search of the end references from the published studies was also conducted to ensure a comprehensive search. Review method: The included studies were evaluated independently by two authors based on the Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal checklist for Interpretive and Critical Research and Descriptive/Case Series to ensure methodological rigour and validity of the review. Results: The literature review included 35 articles; of which, 18 were qualitative studies, 13 were quantitative studies, and four were mixed-method studies. The findings from this review were categorised into three themes: (1) making judgement, (2) service delivery, and (3) effective communication. Conclusions: The results from the review suggest that triage is a complex process involving decisionmaking and interprofessional communication. Nurses need to make judgement, consider factors affecting service delivery, and engage in effective communication, which is central to triaging. Decisionmaking is contextual and requires judicious judgement. Effective communication with fellow healthcare personnel and with patients and their caregivers is paramount to optimise care delivery. Finally, more support is needed to empower the nurses to cope with the work involved in triaging.