Table 1 Characteristics of the participating emergency departments and hospitals
Hospital A | Hospital B | Hospital C | Hospital D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of beds | 700 | 300 | 852 | 235 |
Level of care | urban, tertiary-care hospital | secondary care hospital | urban, tertiary-care hospital | secondary care hospital |
Annual ED census | 43,000 | 20,600 | 36,000 | 16,900 |
Triage team | 17 nurses | 19 nurses | 53 nurses | 12 nurses |
Qualification requirements for triage nurses | Postgraduate emergency nursing educationa OR many years of professional ED experience AND triage training (see below) | Nurses with or without postgraduate emergency nursing educationa, at least six month experience in emergency nursing AND triage training (see below) | Postgraduate emergency nursing educationa OR Many years of professional ED experience, more than 4 years of experience in acute nursing AND triage training (see below) | Postgraduate emergency nursing educationa AND triage training (see below) |
Introduction of the ESI | 2008 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
Experience with the ESI in daily practice, months (min-max) | 32 (2–48) | 11 (7–11) | 12 (4–14) | 23 (10–30) |
Training | Three hours of training in ESI application, with supervision by an experienced ESI user, for each nurse’s first day of implementation of the ESI tool. Four times annually, refreshing the knowledge in team meetings by discussing cases. | Four hours of training in ESI application, with supervision by an experienced ESI user, for each nurse’s first day of implementation of the ESI tool | Four hours of training in ESI application, and, once a month, participation in a triage workshop. | Three hours of training in ESI application, with supervision by an experienced ESI user, for each nurse’s first day of implementation of the ESI tool |