Five-Level Triage

A Report from the ACEP/ENA Five-Level Triage Task Force

Fernandes, Christopher M.B. MD, FACEP
Tanabe, Paula PhD, RN
Gilboy, Nicki RN, MS, CEN
Johnson, Loren A. MD, FACEP
McNair, Rebecca S. RN, CEN
Rosenau, Alexander M. DO, FACEP
Sawchuk, Peter MD, JD, MBA
Thompson, David A. MD, FACEP
Travers, Debbie A. PhD, RN, CEN
Bonalumi, Nancy RN, MS, CEN
Suter, Robert E. DO, MHA, FACEP

Christopher M.B. Fernandes is Co-Chair, ACEP/ENA Five-Level Triage Task Force, Hamilton Health Sciences/McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Paula Tanabe is Co-Chair, ACEP/ENA Five-Level Triage Task Force, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill. Committee Members of the Task Force and contributing authors are Nicki Gilboy, Brigham and Womens' Hospital, Boston, Mass; Loren A. Johnson, Sutter Davis Hospital, Davis, Calif; Rebecca S. McNair, Triage First Inc, Fairview, NC; Alexander M. Rosenau, Lehigh Valley Hospitals, Allentown, Pa; Peter Sawchuk, Green Pond, NJ; David A. Thompson, MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn, Ill; Debbie A. Travers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Nancy Bonalumi, The Children—s Hospital of Philadelphia, and ENA Board Liaison, Philadelphia, Pa; and Robert E. Suter, ACEP Board Liaison, Dallas, Tex.

For correspondence, write: Paula Tanabe, PhD, RN, 259 E Erie, Suite 100, Department of Emergency Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611; E-mail: [email protected]

Supported by the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association.

Journal of Emergency Nursing 31(1):p 39-50, February 2005.

A joint task force of members from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), appointed in 2003, critically analyzed the literature and made recommendations regarding use of five-level triage systems in the United States (US). This paper summarizes task force recommendations and supports the adoption of a reliable, valid five-level triage scale.