Other Titles

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Triaging Educational Program for Emergency Department Nurses at a Private Hospital in Saudi Arabia [Poster Title]

Other Titles

Rising Star Poster/Presentation

Abstract

Inaccurate triage decisions can also lead to increased length of patient stays in the emergency department, increased rehospitalizations, and increased risk of mortality, all of which are quality of care indicators. Anecdotal evidence from the emergency department leadership, however, suggests that inaccurate triaging decisions are being made. In addition, 60 percent of a limited sample of 30 charts that were recently reviewed contained inaccurate triaging decisions. The accuracy of these triaging decisions has not been systematically evaluated at our facility. Triaging educational training programs that include systematic audits of triaging decisions have been shown to improve the sustained accuracy of triaging decisions by improving nurses’ triaging knowledge and triaging confidence or self-efficacy.

Purpose: The purpose project is to implement the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) triaging educational training program for emergency room nurses and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in improving nurses’ triaging knowledge, triaging self-efficacy, and the accuracy of triaging decisions.

Project Questions: PQ1: Is there a statistically significant difference between nurses’ triaging knowledge before and after completing the triaging educational training program?

PQ2: Is there a statistically significant difference between nurses’ triaging self-efficacy before and after completing the triaging educational training program?

PQ3: Is there a statistically significant difference between the accuracy performance of nurses’ triaging decisions before and after completing the triaging educational training program?

PQ4: Is there a statistically significant relationship between triaging self-efficacy and triaging accuracy performance before completing the triaging educational training program?

Methods: This program evaluation uses a pre/post comparative design to evaluate the effectiveness of the triaging educational training program on knowledge, self-efficacy, and accuracy performance.

Participants: Inclusion Criteria: All 32 nurses working in DSFHR emergency department.

Exclusion Criteria: None.

Outcomes: The results of the project will be used to inform triaging training program modification and sustainment decisions. We expect significant improvements in triaging knowledge, triaging self-efficacy, and triaging decision accuracy after completing the triaging educational program.

Notes

References:

Alabbasi, K., Kruger, E., & Tennant, M. (2021). Evaluation of Emergency Health-Care initiatives to reduce overcrowding in a referral medical complex, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Journal of Health Systems Research, 1(4), 134–139. https://doi.org/10.1159/000517487

Ahsan, K. B., Alam, M. R., Morel, D. G., & Karim, A. (2019). Emergency department resource optimisation for improved performance: a review. Journal of Industrial Engineering, International, 15(S1), 253–266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40092-019-00335-x

AlShatarat, M., Rayan, A., Eshah, N. F., Baqeas, M. H., Jaber, M. J., & ALBashtawy, M. (2022). Triage knowledge and practice and associated factors among emergency department nurses. SAGE Open Nursing, 8, 237796082211305. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608221130588

Bandura, A. (2006). GUIDE FOR CONSTRUCTING SELF-EFFICACY SCALES. Information Age Publishing. http://shc.sbmu.ac.ir/uploads/SELFEFFICAC.pdf

Di Laura, D., D'Angiolella, L., Mantovani, L., Squassabia, G., Clemente, F., Santalucia, I., Improta, G., & Triassi, M. (2021). Efficiency measures of emergency departments: an Italian systematic literature review. BMJ open quality, 10(3), e001058. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001058

Oh, W., & Jung, M. (2024). Triage—clinical reasoning on emergency nursing competency: a multiple linear mediation effect. BMC Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01919-8

Srinivas, S., Nazareth, R., & Ullah, S. (2020). Modeling and analysis of business process reengineering strategies for improving emergency department efficiency. SIMULATION, 97(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0037549720957722

Tossaint-Schoenmakers, R., Versluis, A., Chavannes, N., Talboom-Kamp, E., & Kasteleyn, M. (2021). The Challenge of Integrating eHealth Into Health Care: Systematic Literature Review of the Donabedian Model of Structure, Process, and Outcome. Journal of medical Internet research, 23(5), e27180-e27180. https://doi.org/10.2196/27180

Description

Readers will learn how we identified a triaging accuracy problem by inexperienced nurses in our emergency department, how we implemented a recognized triaging educational training program and how we measured the effectiveness of this training program in improving triaging accuracy, triaging knowledge, and triaging self-efficacy.

Author Details

Sawsan Falatah, DNP, MAS, RN; Janice Hawkins, PhD, RN; Craig Cunningham, PhD, RN

Sigma Membership

Alpha Beta Sigma at-Large

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Promoting Clinical Outcomes, Clinical Practice, Triage, Triage Training, Competence, Self-efficacy, Saudi Arabia

Conference Name

48th Biennial Convention

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Conference Year

2025

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Invited Presentation

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2025-12-09

Click on the above link to access the poster.

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The Effect of Triaging Educational Training Program on Triaging Knowledge Self Efficacy and Accuracy

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Inaccurate triage decisions can also lead to increased length of patient stays in the emergency department, increased rehospitalizations, and increased risk of mortality, all of which are quality of care indicators. Anecdotal evidence from the emergency department leadership, however, suggests that inaccurate triaging decisions are being made. In addition, 60 percent of a limited sample of 30 charts that were recently reviewed contained inaccurate triaging decisions. The accuracy of these triaging decisions has not been systematically evaluated at our facility. Triaging educational training programs that include systematic audits of triaging decisions have been shown to improve the sustained accuracy of triaging decisions by improving nurses’ triaging knowledge and triaging confidence or self-efficacy.

Purpose: The purpose project is to implement the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) triaging educational training program for emergency room nurses and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in improving nurses’ triaging knowledge, triaging self-efficacy, and the accuracy of triaging decisions.

Project Questions: PQ1: Is there a statistically significant difference between nurses’ triaging knowledge before and after completing the triaging educational training program?

PQ2: Is there a statistically significant difference between nurses’ triaging self-efficacy before and after completing the triaging educational training program?

PQ3: Is there a statistically significant difference between the accuracy performance of nurses’ triaging decisions before and after completing the triaging educational training program?

PQ4: Is there a statistically significant relationship between triaging self-efficacy and triaging accuracy performance before completing the triaging educational training program?

Methods: This program evaluation uses a pre/post comparative design to evaluate the effectiveness of the triaging educational training program on knowledge, self-efficacy, and accuracy performance.

Participants: Inclusion Criteria: All 32 nurses working in DSFHR emergency department.

Exclusion Criteria: None.

Outcomes: The results of the project will be used to inform triaging training program modification and sustainment decisions. We expect significant improvements in triaging knowledge, triaging self-efficacy, and triaging decision accuracy after completing the triaging educational program.