Is there new onset confusion, lethargy or disorientation?
• Is this patient in severe pain or distress? Is this a high-risk situation? Define the term high risk and have the participants identify chief complaints or diagnoses that are high risk. Participants will usually mention aortic abdominal aneurysm and ectopic pregnancy but the trainer needs to encourage the staff to think about other low volume, high-risk presentations. During this discussion knowledge deficits may become evident and the instructor will need to provide additional educational materials. For example, staff nurses may disagree on the need for immediate evaluation of a patient that presents with symptoms of central retinal artery occlusion. This is a perfect opportunity to explain why this is high-risk situation. A discussion of high-risk situations also provides the trainer with an opportunity to review triage red flags in the elderly and in children. To prepare for this section of the course the instructor may want to review the Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum© and dev
