WORKING AS A NURSES IN AN EMERGENCY UNIT AT A GENERAL HOSPITAL

Abstract

            The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of team mentors mentoring nurses working in the Emergency Unit. The qualitative research methodology of Heidegger's interpretative phenomenology was employed. Twelve registered nurses with at least 2-year experience in Emergency department work were included. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, voice recordings, field notes, and observations. The data were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using the interpretative method proposed by Crist and Tanner, ensuring trustworthiness based on the criteria of Guba and Lincoln.

            The findings related to experiences with a team mentor could be categorized into eight themes as follows: 1) Screening patients requiring diverse skills, 2) Monitoring symptoms to determine admission or discharge, 3) Assisting in resuscitation and expediting procedures, 4) Referring patients, 5) Providing emergency medical services, 6) Offering disaster services, 7) Performing other assigned tasks, 8) Taking the results from work. The results of this study gain an understanding of the variety of tasks of registered nurses in the Emergency Department. Registered nurses care for patients of all diseases and ages, including all levels of treatment urgency. Therefore, they must have a wide range of medical knowledge and skills to be able to evaluate, diagnose, and provide nursing care appropriately and quickly.