Telephone triage nurses play a crucial role in ensuring patients receive necessary care regardless of their location. Similar to all nursing roles, telephone triage presents its own set of challenges, with variables changing daily. To excel in this dynamic environment, telephone triage nurses should demonstrate several fundamental nursing skills specific to triage nursing.
1. Active Listening
Active listening in triage nursing surpasses basic communication abilities. It integrates verbal and non-verbal cues while avoiding typical responses used merely to fill silences. Active listening entails paraphrasing to ensure comprehension, reaffirming and validating the caller’s emotions, and summarizing symptoms and conditions without resorting to labels. For example, nurses should refer to “a person with diabetes” instead of “a diabetic”.
2. Ask Effective Questions
The essence of a telephone triage session hinges on the types of questions posed. Mastering the art of asking effective questions—whether closed, probing, or open-ended—is a critical skill for triage nurses. Equally important is steering clear of ineffective questions like leading and negative inquiries.
3. Patience
A vital aspect of possessing strong interpersonal skills is displaying patience toward every patient. Given the high volume of calls handled by telephone triage nurses daily, callers may not always be in a clear state of mind. Nurses must exercise patience to reassure patients and facilitate productive triage sessions.
4. Interpersonal Skills
Triage nurses interact with individuals (often in distress) day in and day out. In such a setting, possessing the skill to offer a sympathetic ear to frightened or suffering patients is crucial for triage nurses. Utilizing positive tones, addressing callers by name, and responding promptly and courteously are essential practices. Additionally, it is beneficial for nurses to provide context for questions, such as, “I need you to check if your baby feels hot to the touch so we can determine the best course of action for him.”
Emotional boundaries should also be established by triage nurses. Patients may behave in an aggressive manner that nurses shouldn’t take personally. Nurses should treat each patient as a unique person to prevent calls from blending together or interfering with their personal lives.
5. Information Retention
In addition to other essential soft skills, triage nurses must possess strong information retention abilities. This encompasses remembering details shared by patients during calls and maintaining a robust understanding of clinical knowledge. Throughout any triage call, nurses should adeptly follow the patient’s narrative and engage in two-way communication regarding their concerns and care.
Telephone triage proves effective because nurses on the line possess the requisite medical training to guide patients toward their next steps. Nurses must retain the clinical information acquired during their training to accurately pinpoint patient issues. While they don’t need to have exhaustive knowledge, they should have a solid foundation in medical principles and know how to access information when needed.
6. Avoiding Inhibiting Judgment
Triage nurses should blend a compassionate bedside manner with professional open-mindedness. While all nurses should refrain from criticism, name-calling, or threats, avoiding subtler forms of judgment is also a crucial triage nursing skill. Nurses should avoid moralizing, excessive, or inappropriate questioning, and they should defer any diagnosis to the attending physician.
7. Critical Thinking
While adhering to prescribed protocols and procedures is crucial, an effective nurse must also possess decision-making capabilities. A skilled telephone triage nurse operates within established processes to address emerging issues and discerns relevant information essential for proper patient care.
Patients contacting tirage centers typically lack medical expertise so they often describe their concerns using subjective language. A key aspect of critical thinking in triage nursing involves identifying and extracting the objective elements from the subjective, enabling the application of appropriate triage techniques for the caller’s needs.
8. Computer Competency
While computer proficiency might not immediately come to mind when thinking about essential triage nursing skills, basic computer competencies are indispensable for the role. This encompasses standard computer navigation skills, like maneuvering through common programs and typing at a reasonable speed, as well as familiarity with specialized systems.
Triage centers often utilize facility-specific software and electronic medical records. Triage nurses should adeptly utilize these tools to enhance patient care and fulfill client requirements. Correct usage of such systems is vital for safeguarding patient information and ensuring the integrity of their care.
9. Decision Making
Triage nurses are frequently tasked with making numerous decisions within tight timeframes. Successful nurses demonstrate the capacity to thrive in high-stress environments, maintaining composure and making sound, rational decisions.
Nursing Skills With TouchPoint Care
TouchPoint Care through CareXM utilizes triage nurses to provide remote patient monitoring services for a variety of healthcare settings. Nurses are essential in our processes, which is why we have only the best nurses available with the necessary skills needed to excel in this field. To learn more about our services, visit our websites at CareXM and TouchPoint Care.