The Set-Up
You have just come in on your swing shift for Memorial's Emergency Room. As an ER Resident, you never know what is going to walk through the doors. After your initial rounds of the current patients, you glance at a clock. 8:30 pm on a summer, Friday night and already 15,000 steps, still 80 *F. Time to buckle in, these are always the busiest nights.
The head nurse tells you that paramedics have just called in multiple patients from different traumas and calls. It is all hands on deck and you rush to the intake rooms. You and your team of 3 other residents need to divide and concur.
The intake nurses have taken the vitals of the 7 new patients. Since you have 5 other patients in your bays already, you will needs to record the new patient's key information, and possible health outcomes for each as the nurse debriefs you.
The head nurse tells you that paramedics have just called in multiple patients from different traumas and calls. It is all hands on deck and you rush to the intake rooms. You and your team of 3 other residents need to divide and concur.
The intake nurses have taken the vitals of the 7 new patients. Since you have 5 other patients in your bays already, you will needs to record the new patient's key information, and possible health outcomes for each as the nurse debriefs you.
Now is the hard part - Part 2
As an ER team it is imperative to triage and prioritize patient care. To do this you will need assess the intake information as follows:
- Compare the vital signs of each patient with the normal range.
- Add all vital signs to your patient intake table.
- Using the Vital Signs Cheat Sheet decide whether each vital sign for each patient is within normal limits. Notate (on your scratch paper) if a patient is within (o), above (+), or below (-) normal limits using the 3 symbols.
- Compare the vital signs with the disruptive ranges.
- Using the Vital Signs Cheat Sheet decide whether each patient is serious, critical, or neither (on your scratch paper). Notate these conditions using 3 different colors.
- Complete the Triage Table (follow directions on the back of the half sheet) - one per group.
- Bring your findings to your Attending Physician (instructor) for review (turn in the half sheet).