EMERGENCY NURSING

Objectives: After the discussion, we will be able to:

a. Learn what is Emergency Nursing, its scope and limitation.
b. Learn about the common procedures encountered during Emergency situations.
c. Properly assess and classify patients using the principles of triage.

I. Definition of Terms:
a. Emergency – a situation or a condition that needs prompt and immediate intervention.
- “ life or limb”
b. Emergency nursing – is the practice of emergency care by professional nurses.
 Care is provided in any setting to persons of all ages with actual or perceived alterations in physical or
emotional health.
 Initially, patients may not have a medical diagnosis.
 Emergency nurses must be ready to treat a wide variety of illnesses or injury situations, ranging from a
sore throat to a heart attack.
c. Emergency Team- individuals, professional/ancillary, who have direct responsibility for the
care of emergency patients.
d. Emergency Nurse – professional nurses trained in providing fast, efficient and safe
emergency care.

II. Scope of Practice and Standards

A. Core of Emergency Nursing
1. Essence
 Assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of perceived actual or
potential, sudden, physical or psychological conditions that occur in varied
settings which require minimal care, life support, patient education and referral
of legal implication.
2. Environment
 Includes primary, secondary, and tertiary settings.
3. Clients
B. Dimension
1. Characteristics
 Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of emergent, urgent and non urgent
conditions
 Disaster preparedness
 Stabilization and resuscitation
 Triage
2. Roles
 Care provider
 Educator
 Manager
 Advocate
 3. Processes Involved in Emergency Care
a. Nursing Process
b. Triage – is the process of classifying patients’ treatment according to the
severity of their condition.
TYPES OF TRIAGE
 Simple Triage - S.T.A.R.T. Model
 Advanced Triage
 Reverse Triage
Clinically dead (Black) – negative pulse and breathing.
Emergent (Red) – immediate treatment.
Urgent (Yellow) – patients who require treatment and whose injuries have
complications that are not life threatening provided they are treated within 1 to 2
hours.
Non Urgent (Green) - patients with local injuries who do not have immediate
complications and who can wait several hours for medical treatment.
Delayed – Doesn’t require emergency treatment at all.
C. Boundaries
1. External boundaries
2. Internal Boundaries

Legal issues affecting the provision of emergency nursing

1. Negligence
2. Malpractice
3. Good Samaritan Laws –states that a health care professional who stops and aids accident
without compensation will not be liable for untoward results related to his/her acts.
4. Informed consent
5. Implied consent
6. Duty to report suspected crimes to the police
7. Duty to gather evidence in criminal investigations; be aware of hospital policy and state laws
for evidence collection