🏥 1. Triage Nurse Responsibilities
🔹 Primary Role: Prioritize Patients
You must quickly identify:
- Who is critically ill
- Who can wait
- Who needs immediate resuscitation
🔹 Tasks:
- Rapid assessment (Airway, Breathing, Circulation)
- Measure vital signs:
- Blood Pressure
- Pulse
- Respiratory rate
- Temperature
- Oxygen saturation
- Assign triage category (Red, Yellow, Green, Black depending on system)
- Initiate emergency protocol if needed
👉 You must think fast and remain calm under pressure.
🚑 2. Resuscitation Room (Critical Care Area)
This is for:
- Cardiac arrest
- Severe trauma
- Shock
- Respiratory failure
- Unconscious patients
🔹 Nursing Tasks:
🫁 Airway & Breathing
- Prepare oxygen therapy
- Assist with intubation
- Set up suction machine
- Prepare nebulization
❤️ Circulation
- Insert IV cannula
- Start IV fluids
- Prepare emergency drugs
- Assist in CPR
- Operate defibrillator
💉 Medication Administration
Common emergency drugs:
- Adrenaline
- Atropine
- Dopamine
- Magnesium sulfate
- Diazepam
You must know:
- Correct dose
- Route
- Indication
- Side effects
🩹 3. Trauma & Injury Management
🔹 Responsibilities:
- Control bleeding
- Apply pressure dressing
- Immobilize fractures (splints)
- Apply cervical collar
- Assist suturing
- Prepare patient for X-ray or CT
You must follow: Primary survey (ABCDE approach)
🧪 4. Diagnostic & Monitoring Duties
🔹 Tasks:
- Blood sampling
- ECG recording
- Urine testing
- Blood glucose monitoring
- Continuous cardiac monitoring
- Monitor urine output
You must detect deterioration early.
🧠 5. Emergency in Special Conditions
🔹 Stroke
- Recognize FAST signs
- Prepare for CT scan
- Monitor neurological status
🔹 Myocardial Infarction
- Immediate ECG
- Administer oxygen
- Prepare thrombolytics
🔹 Seizures
- Protect airway
- Turn patient to side
- Administer anticonvulsants
📋 6. Documentation & Legal Responsibility
Very important in emergency nursing.
You must document:
- Time of arrival
- Vital signs
- Interventions done
- Drugs given
- Patient response
Remember: If it is not documented, it is not done (legally).
👨👩👧 7. Communication Skills
You must:
- Communicate clearly with doctors
- Give handover reports properly
- Calm anxious relatives
- Provide discharge instructions
⚡ 8. Infection Control & Safety
- Use PPE correctly
- Follow universal precautions
- Dispose sharps properly
- Handle biohazard materials safely
🧭 Key Qualities of an ETU Nurse
- Fast decision making
- Strong clinical knowledge
- Emotional control
- Teamwork
- Physical stamina
- Compassion
🎯 Final Advice from an Emergency Physician
In the Emergency Treatment Unit:
- Seconds save lives.
- Assessment is continuous.
- Teamwork is everything.
As a nurse in ETU, you are not “assisting” — you are a frontline lifesaver.