Triage
When you arrive at the Emergency Department, your first stop is triage. Here, your condition is assessed and prioritized by a triage nurse as:
- Life-threatening
- Urgent, but not life-threatening
- Less urgent
The triage nurse will read your vital signs (temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, blood pressure), and get a brief history of your complaint, past medical problems, medications and allergies so that the appropriate triage category can be determined.
Registration
Registration obtains your vital statistics. This is necessary to develop a medical record so that your medical history, lab tests, X-rays, etc. will be located on one chart that can be referred to at any time.
Diagnosis and Treatment
An emergency nurse and emergency physician will obtain more information, including details of your present illness, any past medical problems, family and social history. Formulating the possible causes of your symptoms, the most likely diagnosis is determined. Or, the physician may decide more tests are required if there is not enough information to make a decision. At this point, the emergency physician may also bring in a specialist for consultation.
Depending on the final diagnosis and treatment of your specific medical condition, you will either be admitted to the hospital, discharged, or transferred to another specialized facility.
When you are discharged
If you are discharged, you will receive written discharge instructions. They will explain your medications, other treatments, and if necessary a referral for follow-up care. |
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