Work experience of triage nurses in emergency departments during the prevalence of COVID-19

OBJECTIVE: In December 2019, the global outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) was reported. As of March 8, 2020, more than 90,000 cases were reported worldwide, resulting in a shortage of global medical resources. The purpose of this study was to understand the working experience of triage nurses in the emergency department (ED) of a large teaching general hospital in Shenzhen (Guangdong province, China) during the COVID-19 epidemic. This will provide a basis for improving the emergency nursing strategies and the epidemic response capabilities of triage nurse. METHODS: Ten triage nurses were selected as subjects by objective sampling for in- depth interviews, and the data were analyzed by the Colaizzi seven-step analysis method. RESULTS: There were four themes in the working experience of triage nurses, including fear of infection and transmission, job stress, gratitude, and expectations of managers. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19, the work experience of triage nurses mainly included the fear of infection and transmission, the high work pressure, the sense of team strength and the care of leaders. It was suggested that nursing managers should ensure the human resources of triage nurses, increase training, strengthen emergency drills, improve emergency nursing countermeasures, and improve the response capability of triage nurses during the epidemic.