Sarah Jeffries on how does the ER waiting room and triage system works. In the ER there is a trained Triage Nurse to asses each person who enters the emergency room. The Triage nurses assesses the severity of your injury or sickness by observing the patients ability to walk, breathing, pain and other things. The triage nurse follows an algorithm called the ESI - Emergency Severity Index.
Chapters: 0:00 The ER WAITING ROOM AND TRIAGE 0:42 Having Tony checked in the ER 1:18 The Waiting Room and Triage Nurse 3:56 The Emergency room team 4:29 You are safe in the ER
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I recently went to the ER with my husband.
He was complaining of pain in his calf
after we flew back from the Create Clash in Florida.
So I'm thinking, right, we just had a flight,
you have pain in your calf, little bit of swelling.
Let's get you checked out.
When we went to the ER, I decided to do this video
because what I saw and heard in that emergency room
really, really shocked me.
My name is Sarah Jeffries.
I'm a registered nurse with experience in ER,
education, and sleep therapy.
And in this video, I'm gonna talk about
what people still don't seem to understand
about the emergency room waiting room.
And hopefully this video will help you
understand the process.
So if you do ever find yourself in the ER waiting room,
and you'll be more mindful
and have a better, more informed experience.
So we go and get my husband checked out
to make sure he didn't have a blood clot.
His calf was a little bit swollen, a little bit hot.
I thought, I was thinking it was just a muscle strain also,
but you can never be too careful.
So we check in and straight away,
I noticed that it's busy, there's people everywhere.
It's a typical emergency room.
Tony gets his vitals checked by a nurse
and then the nurse does a quick assessment
and then he's told to sit in the waiting room
and wait his turn to see a doctor.
And here's the thing.
Many people still don't understand
about emergency room waiting room
is that in the two seconds that you saw the triage nurse,
it's also called the greet nurse,
he or she, whoever the triage nurse is,
they've already figured you out
and they've already assessed you
from the minute that you've walked in the door.
The triage nurse has sussed you out
and got a little bit of an idea of what's going on
before you've even said hello.
And that's the thing what many people forget.
They've done this by a few things.
They're looking to see whether you're walking.
They're looking to see, are you talking?
Do you look like you're in a lot of pain?
And that's before you've even looked at the triage nurse
or even checked in with your insurance card.
That's the triage nurse's job.
And they're watching over everybody in the waiting room.
They know exactly what is going on
and they don't just make it up.
They have an algorithm.
It's called an ESI algorithm,
which stands for Emergency Severity Index.
And I won't bore you with the details,
but it's a five-level tier system that the nurses use
and it's based off clinical severity
and the resources that you might need as a patient.
And this is what the triage nurses use.
The reason that you wait so long in the waiting room,
it's not because the nurse thinks that you're sweet
or the nurse thinks you're annoying
and based off that, they're gonna make you wait longer.
It's got nothing to do with that.
They've actually got a set algorithm that they follow.
They've been through training for this.
There's actually a reason why you're sitting there waiting
and it's the ESI.
And this is what I would teach to the nurses
who are brand new at triage.
So they have to take a class, they have to pass an exam
and also they have to be an experienced ER nurse.
It's not a brand new nurse sitting at that desk
assessing everybody in the waiting room.
So this nurse that you first say hi to,
this nurse is a big deal.
They know what they're talking about.
So back to our experience the other day,
we check in and we sit down
and I know it's gonna be a while
because I've been doing this a long time.
I know that Tony's breathing is okay.
He doesn't have chest pain.
He's not confused or suicidal.
We're gonna be waiting a while and that's okay with me.
And this is the thing that still gets me
is that multiple people went to the desk
and complained and asked, when can I see a doctor?
This is ridiculous, I've been waiting for ages.
It's understandable, they're frustrated,
they might be in pain and they're waiting.
But the way in which they asked the triage nurse,
it was with such attitude, it made my heart sink.
But also I was getting a little bit annoyed
and I just thought I'll do this video
just to explain a little bit more.
So hopefully if you're in that situation,
you can understand it.
And I want also people to get a little bit of perspective
and respect and be thankful you're in good hands.
You're not just left in the waiting room to your own devices.
It's that nurse's job to assess everybody there.
They know what's going on.
And this nurse is taking care of you
whether you think it or not.
And another point, there's a team back there
who is acutely aware that there are 15 or more patients
to be seen in the waiting room.
And they're working hard, they're working fast.
The ER is not a slow place.
They're working fast, 24 hours a day
to make sure everybody's seen appropriately.
And even my husband said, this is taking ages.
I'm gonna ask how long the wait is.
And he didn't because I gave him a look like,
sit down, don't you dare.
So he didn't.
We actually left and we decided to watch his leg
and if it got worse, we would go back.
He didn't, by the way, it's fine.
But just this recent visit got me thinking,
this amazing triage nurse who is following this algorithm,
been through a lot of training,
they know what they're doing
and they were doing their job excellently.
And to anyone who's entering the ER
and annoyed by the wait times, I understand.
But remember that you're in a safe space,
you're being looked over by an angel
and the nurse does feel bad.
They want to get you in fast.
They have empathy, they understand.
So I want to emphasise these words, kindness and patience.
Wait your turn, be kind to those that work,
to take care of you.
And also for me personally,
I would be grateful that I wasn't being rushed
into the back of the ER
because that means that you're sick
or that you've had a serious accident.
So I was really happy and I would be happy to wait
knowing that my airway is good, my breathing's good,
my heart is beating
and you will get the appropriate care that you need
and the appropriate time that you need.
If you want to try White Noise for Sleep,
click here and listen to what I listened to
to help me fall asleep and stay asleep.
