Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
11-17-2025
First Advisor
Sandy King
Second Advisor
Beatrice Bailey
Abstract
In rural emergency departments, accurate triage is vital to ensuring patient safety and maximizing limited resources. This quality improvement project aimed to strengthen triage practices by enhancing nurses’ understanding and confidence in using the Emergency Severity Index (ESI), a standardized tool for assessing patient acuity. Ten registered nurses at a seven-bed critical access hospital participated in a structured educational program, guided by Lewin’s Change Theory and Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory. The intervention included hands-on training, real-world scenarios, and self-assessment surveys. After the program, nurses showed significant gains in both knowledge (mean scores rose from 70.0 to 88.9, p < .001) and confidence (from 13.5 to 23.2 out of 25). While the small sample size and short timeline were limitations, the results highlight the value of ongoing education in improving triage accuracy and patient care. This project offers a practical model for rural hospitals seeking to enhance emergency nursing practice and promote consistent, evidence-based decision-making.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Amanda, "Quality Improvement Project Assessment of Emergency Department Staff Knowledge on Use of Emergency Severity Index in a Critical Access Hospital: Implementation of Emergency Department-based Education Program." (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 260.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/260
