Professional Capability in Triage Nurses in Emergency Department: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

In Emergency Department, triage nurses play a keyrole in the prioritization of the needs of patients whoare in critical conditions. Accordingly, it is essentialthat the concept of professional capability and its aspectsbe explored in these nurses. The present study aims toidentify Iranian triage nurses’ perception of professionalcapability. The present study is a qualitative work basedon conventional content analysis. 20 triage nurses participatedin the study. Data were collected using in-depth,semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, andobservation. The collected data were analyzed accordingto Granheim and Landman’s method. Analysis of the datacollected from the interviews yielded 3 categories and 9subcategories. In the present study, professional capabilitywas found to be comprised of 3 domains: “clinical competence”,“psychological empowerment”, and “professionalcommitment”. The results of the study helped identify awide range of the dimensions of and factors affecting professionalcapability in triage nurses. Nursing administratorscan use the findings of the study to identify nurses who arequalified to work in triage units and develop programs toenhance triage nurses’ professional capability.