The Adult Treatment Assessment Room (ATAR) nurse is responsible for the reassessment and initiation of simple nursing care for all patients within the Triage Area. The ATAR nurse will work closely with the Triage Nurses and the Waiting Room (WR) Nurse to initiate early interventions and investigations ensure the safety of patients in the waiting room.
The early interventions commenced in the waiting room by the WR/ATAR nurse will reduce the time patients need to wait to get a disposition decision, improve flow through the Emergency Department and will contribute to an improved patient experience within the Emergency Department.
The SHED NUM, SHED Director and SHED Educators are responsible for ensuring that all staff within the department are aware of the Emergency Triage roles and responsibilities.
1. Receive handover from previous shift nurse, check and re-stock equipment required for triage assessment and Triage Treatment Room.
2. Initiate nursing interventions such as pathology, analgesia and ECGs, from the triage treatment room; giving priority to category 3 patients and patients who are nearing, or have exceeded the recommended ATS wait time.
3. Perform a nursing assessment on patients while in the ATAR room appropriate to clinical presentation and need.
4. Escalate any concerns or markers of clinical deterioration to the Triage Nurse, who then can reassess and escalate in accordance with their clinical needs.
5. Complete appropriate and timely documentation of all nursing care and assessments on the relevant platform (EMR, EDIS, Adult Emergency Observation chart -WHAD51.2a).
6. Liaise with the WR and Triage nurses, to expedite assessments such as ECG’s, pathology and administration of analgesia and reduce the time to clinical decision making.
7. Ensure the waiting room, TAR and Triage Treatment Room is stocked, clean and tidy prior to end of shift
8. Provide compassionate and effective communication to patients and carers to ensure a positive patient experience.
Nil
