ON THE THRESHOLD OF SAFETY: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF NURSES' PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORS INVOLVED IN SAFE STAFFING LEVELS IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

摘要

Introduction: The emergency department is a unique practice environment in that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which mandates a medical screening examination for all presenting patients, effectively precludes any sort of patient volume control; staffing needs are therefore fluid and unpredictable. The purpose of this study is to explore emergency nurses' perceptions of factors involved in safe staffing levels and to identify factors that negatively and positively influence staffing levels and might lend themselves to more effective interventions and evaluations.