Are Emergency Department Triage Nurses Knowledgeable about Acute Coronary Syndromes Recognition?
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Authors
Weeks, Jennifer C.
Issue Date
2017
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
triage nurses , acute coronary syndromes , College of Sciences and Health Professions , Amankwaa, Linda , emergency department
Alternative Title
Abstract
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been the leading cause of
death since 1921 and the volume of ED patients with a chest pain chief complaint
equates to six million visits annually. Though a common ED patient presentation, triage
accuracy rates are low and time delays in patient care are high despite extensive ACS
presentation research and published practice guidelines. Objective: Triage nurses must
have adequate ACS knowledge to perform prompt recognition and medical response,
thereby reducing patient mortality and morbidity. Using the Synergy Model for Patient
Care, this study sought to determine if triage nurses within the emergency department
have the knowledge to accurately identify patients at risk for ACS. Methods: After pilot
testing the instrument, an anonymous electronic survey of 12 closed-ended questions
was administered to nurses who met sample criteria at two EDs. Results: Correct
answers ranged from 3 (25.00%) to 10 (83.30%) with a mean, median, and mode of 7
(58.30%) and a confidence interval (α) of ±0.04 (6.96, 7.04). The SD for the study is
0.13. No study participants achieved a passing score of 84% or greater accuracy. The
independent t-test found significance in the participants years of ED experience with
their survey results (P = 0.0056). Simple linear regression determined the slope of this
relationship to be 1.191 ± 0.4520. Conclusions: This research facilitates bridging the gap
between existing research and practice guidelines through the provision of improved
training for ED triage nurses to enhance ACS recognition and medical response which is
essential to optimal outcomes for ACS patients.
Description
Jennifer Weeks currently serves as the EMS Liaison and Cardiovascular Coordinator at University Health Care System in Augusta, Georgia. She has been is best known for using her experience in both EMC and nursing to bridge the gap between prehospital care and the emergency department. Jennifer Weeks wishes to impact patient care on a grand level and feels that education is key to improving the care at the bedside and in the boardroom. She attends Albany State University in the Family Nurse Practioner Program and remains involved in her community both in health prevention and through volunteering. She is also an active member of the Local Emergency Response Team. Jennifer is an instructor in several specialty courses. Her unique leadership background in hospital education, community education, and school education has been recognized nationally by select as the 2015 EHAC Person of the Year by the American College of Cardiology/Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, by the state of Georgia as the 2016 as the recipient of the Joe Lane Cox Excellence in EMS Award by the Georgia EMS Association, and on a local level by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor of Society of Nursing as a recipient of a Excellence in Practice Award. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband, mother, and four children.