Emergency Nursing Approach to Trauma Cases in Türkiye

Abstract

Background: Defining the emergency nursing approach to trauma patients and identifying deficiencies is crucial for providing effective, fast, safe, and high-quality emergency nursing care in the future. This study aimed to describe the nursing activities of emergency nurses working in a tertiary university hospital in the province of Samsun, located in the Eastern Middle Black Sea Region of Türkiye, regarding the emergency nursing approach to trauma cases over a 1-year period. Methods: The research was conducted with a mixed method using data from 2018. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to define the emergency nursing approach to trauma cases in the emergency department (ED). Data were collected through a retrospective review of medical records of trauma patients (N=2540) in the ED and focus group discussions with 10 emergency nurses. The data extracted from the medical records of ED trauma patients were compared in terms of compliance with the emergency nursing job descriptions specified in the Nursing Regulation (NR) and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) emergency nursing guide. Quantitative data were reported using frequency and percentage, while content analysis was performed for qualitative data. Content analysis involved coding, identifying themes, and organizing data according to the codes and themes that were determined. Results: The study revealed that ED nurses primarily assessed vital signs (81.5%) and consciousness (34.8%) and focused on activities related to the circulatory system (56%) in their nursing interventions. The research also indicated that the nurses' knowledge regarding the primary and secondary evaluation of emergency patients was insufficient. Although not currently a requirement in Türkiye, nurses expressed that obtaining emergency nursing education should be a prerequisite for working in the ED. Conclusion: The study found that ED nurses in Türkiye lacked a systematic guideline for approaching trauma patients, and there was inadequate adherence to ENA guidelines in practice. Additionally, independent nursing interventions that enhance the influence, visibility, and autonomy of the nursing profession were not being implemented in the ED. © The author(s).