Managing the floor in the emergency department
Working in an emergency department (ED) can be a tough battle for every health care worker on the floor and even more so for doctors. And it is not for nothing. Managing these chaotic situations requires not only excellent coordination and swift decision-making and situational awareness. There are also interpersonal aspects, such as the fact that both junior and senior staff members need to manage patients and help each other. However, in order to create a dynamic and safe workplace, it is also important to encourage relaxation and quality communication along with regular breaks during shifts.
Junior Staff’s perspective and Responsibilities
It can be challenging and a somewhat intimidating for young doctors and nurses to come work in this type of area, ED. During those quick-paced shifts, junior staff should try to incorporate brief intervals for rest as well. Breaks are necessary not just to help the thought organizing process, but to help the body withstand long shifts with ease. When caring about all things, sometimes it’s exhausting so the option to escape everything for a minute is a lot more helpful than it sounds.
patient care in ED comes with quite a number of responsibilities, for instance starting with assessing a patient and then moving to writing about them. An important point to remember is that junior staff should immediately focus on the red flags since reporting them to senior colleagues is crucial. Strong team communication is important in every scenario; however it is the key when a brief time window is available to deal with a patient pathology. Junior staff need to come across clearly, so that senior staff have the important information needed to make an effective decision. Routinely checks on team members to make sure everyone understands the plan and there are no mistakes and delays are recommended.
Time management is yet another important skill that applies to a majority of all staff. To manage multiple patients in an appropriate way, it is necessary to set and meet target timelines for assessment and check-ups. It is also useful to involve nursing personnel since their scope may be wider than that of the rest of the ED and they tend to be more useful. Formation of this type of teamwork not only reduces the amount of work that each person has to do but also helps in promoting cultures which allow people to take time off work and it’s normal when coworkers cover for them.
Senior Staff Perspectives and responsibilities
For senior staff on the floor or management, their responsibilities revolve around Decision making, looking after who is working, mentoring and ensuring that work is done in a proper manner. The strength of senior staff in a majority of cases could be their communication impact and not actual work. Regular interactions with juniors make it possible for seniors to assess whether there is someone who may be in need of help. This type of practice in senior staff makes their teams happier as well, but it reduces situations where fatigue may have led to mistakes.
During peak times, senior staff has the responsibility to carry out effective triage and delegating of tasks. Resources and tasks should be assigned in relation to the capacity of the team during busy times. Effective internal communication facilitates proper organization of patient care activities to reduce waiting time for patients and to improve their outcomes.
At the emergency department ED, the ability to maintain good work, divide the work in intervals, and relate effectively all sustain high work. The jitters of junior staff include learning prioritization and how to work with others and junior staff makes the environment better through mentoring and managing. All staff goal is to protect the patients and look after the safety, efficiency, and integrity of the emergency department floor.
And remember…..
“You don't choose the ED; it chooses you. Only those ready to face the unknown every day belong here."
Dr. Louis Profeta