Inside triage: the social organization of emergency nursing work
Date
2012-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Emergency care in large urban hospitals across the country is in the midst of major redesign intended to improve access, decrease wait times and maximize efficiency. Using Institutional Ethnography, I was able to document critical, empiric evidence that shows what nurses actually do to manage the safe passage of patients through their emergency care process starting with the work of triage nurses. The Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale figures prominently in the analysis as a high level organizer of triage work and knowledge production that underpins the way those who administer the system define, measure and evaluate emergency care processes, and then use this information for restructuring. The core argument throughout is that industrial production line values and principles that have infiltrated health care management and reframe patient care, are having serious consequences. This critical analysis uncovers a number of deleterious effects as rapid patient processing disrupts expert nursing work, and will contribute to a broader understanding of health system quality.
Description
Bibliography: p. 209-228
Many pages are in colour.
Includes copy of ethics approvals. Original copies with original Partial Copyright Licence.
Many pages are in colour.
Includes copy of ethics approvals. Original copies with original Partial Copyright Licence.
Keywords
Citation
Melon, K. A. (2012). Inside triage: the social organization of emergency nursing work (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24132