The Effect of the Program to Develop the Skills Among Registered Nurses and Emergency Medical Officers in the Patient Screening Section in the Outpatient Department and the Emergency Department at Mae Tang Hospital, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

This one-group pretest-posttest design aimed to compare the knowledge and patient triage skills among registered nurses and emergency medical officers in the patient screening section before and after implementing the triage skills development program. The purpose of this study included evaluating the accuracy of the patient sorting and a satisfaction evaluation. The sample was selected purposively and included 21 healthcare workers from Mae Taeng Hospital’s accident and emergency department and outpatient department who work at the patient screening sites, including 18 registered nurses and three emergency medical officers. The experimental instrument was the triage skill development program, which included coaching and the practice of triage skills. The questionnaires for demographics, knowledge, triage skill observation record, satisfaction with the triage skill development program, and the results records were among the data collection tools. It was found that the research instrument has a consistency index between .67-1.00, reliability for the knowledge assessment tool =.85, the skill observation instrument =.84, and the satisfaction assessment tool =.96. Descriptive statistics and paired t-test statistics were used to analyze the data. Regarding the implementation of the program into practice, it was found that the mean triage knowledge scores (=12.61, SD=3.20 vs =17.76, SD=2.41, t=-6.162, p<.001) and the mean triage skill scores (=9.19, SD=2.44 vs =11.00, SD=21.67, t=-8.047, p<.001) were much higher than before. There was a decrease in the rates of over-triage and under-triage. The percentage of patients who were incorrectly triaged and not discovered to be worse off was declining. Satisfaction was at the highest level (=4.57, SD=.51). Patient triage skills are developed through this program. This program will ensure that patients receive services that are timely, appropriate, and accurate, and also help reduce patient risk, which creates quality and improved service results.