I was just talking with a CNA and she told me she was in triage for the first time. I assumed she was working in conjunction with an RN. I was wrong. She was actually triaging patients by herself. I tried to explain to her the dangers of a CNA triaging. That it was an area that she is not truly quailified in. She didn't buy it, she said "Well the hospital must think I am quailified if they had me do it". Now I worked at this hospital before, I also took my daughter there for croup when we first moved to the area. The place is truly a dump. They didn't know how to treat croup. They also did somethings that were very unprofessional that I had to leave because I was scared for my nursing liscense. The scariest was they sent a teenager to the regular peds unit that OD on Xanax. They lied to poison control, and told them she was going to ICU and will be monitored. The only monitor on the peds unit was a pulse ox. Her regular physician had to come in to get her transferred to the unit.
This CNA never had any previous training in triage. She only had her CNA since Nov 06. She didn't know anything about EMTLA laws. She was signing the acuity level and so forth.
Maybe I am just lucky, but both ER in different cities required only an RN in triage, had a specfic triage class we had to attend, and also had 12 hours of triage orientation and had to be at the hospital for at least 6 months.
What were your quailifications? Do believe it is nuts to send a CNA out to triage and especially do it with no training?
Has anyone at that hospital ever heard of EMTALA it has several regs that deal with just that situation. what they are doing is called illegal. not to mention immoral. stay away from that place.
AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P
2,610 Posts
I am suprised. I just got hired as a new grad RN, am already a paramedic, and cannot do triage for about a year.
Swtooth