Global

Emergency department triage: Safe, consistent acuity assignment for nurses

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 14 details that are specific to your organisation.

See the live deckSee the full outline
Try the coursePreview the survey
Length
40 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
Before a nurse first triages unsupervised
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Special settings and grey areas
What would you do?

Mrs Kowalski, who is frail and says she is "no trouble", has a fast pulse and is short of breath

Try it: this is one of 20 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 40 minutes
  • Scenario, flashcards, sorting activity, accordion and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, word cloud, poll, scale slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 322.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessmentnoneWhole course
SO 322.1Explain the purpose of triage and apply the local triage scale in the order its decision points are set out + your infoExamples: Emergency Severity Index (ESI) Implementation Handbook; Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS); Manchester Triage System; best practiceWhole course
SO 322.2Spot danger signs and time-critical presentations and act on them first + your infoExamples: local pathways for sepsis, stroke and chest pain; best practiceWhole course
SO 322.3Adapt triage to special populations and settings (telephone, obstetric, children, older adults) under local protocol + your infoBest practiceWhole course
SO 322.4Describe the principles of mass-casualty triage and re-triage during surge, and escalate to the incident lead + your infoExamples: START mass-casualty triage; local major incident plan; best practiceWhole course
SO 322.5Re-assess waiting patients, document the reason for the acuity and audit your own decisions with a colleague + your infoExamples: EMTALA (screening duty, US); best practiceWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 14 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 40 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why triage matters

3 pages

7 min
Before you beginNoteList
A full waiting roomTextImageChecklistYour info
What is triage for?Key factFlashcardsQuiz
2

Using the local triage scale

3 pages

7 min
The decision pointsTabsNote
Which first?Sorting activity
Reason, then recordFlashcardsMatching quiz
3

Spotting danger signs

3 pages

7 min
Time-critical cluesAccordionNote
The routineProcessYour info
CheckChecklistQuiz
4

Special settings and grey areas

3 pages

7 min
ScenarioScenarioQuiz
ScenarioScenarioYour infoQuiz
Special groups and surgeMatching quizSorting activity
5

Re-triage, record and speak up

3 pages

7 min
Waiting room safetyProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoNote
Audit your own triageAccordion
ScenarioScenarioQuizButtonYour info
6

Final assessment

2 pages

5 min
PracticeQuiz
CompletionKey factListNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "triage is a safety decision made in seconds" (speaker notes: template page URL)
Word cloudOne word for the hardest part of being on triage
PollHow often do you triage? (Every shift · Weekly · Occasionally · Rarely)
ContentThe decision points of the local scale and the triage routine
QuizA calm, frail patient has a fast pulse and is short of breath. You…" (Act on the findings and choose a higher level ✔ · Rank them low because they are calm · Ask them to wait · Assume anxiety)
QuizYou are unsure between two levels. You…" (Choose the higher and ask for help ✔ · Choose the lower · Ask the patient · Leave it to the next nurse)
Content · customiseCustomise: our triage scale, pathways and re-check policy" with {{LOCAL_TRIAGE_SCALE}}, {{LOCAL_TIME_CRITICAL_PATHWAYS}}, {{WAITING_ROOM_RECHECK_POLICY}}
ScaleHow confident are you re-triaging a full waiting room?" 1 to 5
Open-ended / Q&AA triage decision I would like to talk through
Content · customiseClosing {{CLINICAL_EDUCATION_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. How confident are you re-triaging patients in a full waiting room? 1-5 scale
  6. Which change have you tried? multiple choice
  7. What barrier have you met in trying it? short text
  8. I can say I am unsure about a triage decision without fear of blame. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the local triage policy? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

14 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Clinical education contact{{CLINICAL_EDUCATION_CONTACT}}
  • Local policy link{{LOCAL_POLICY_LINK}}
  • Incident reporting route{{INCIDENT_REPORTING_ROUTE}}
  • Escalation route{{ESCALATION_ROUTE}}
  • Regulator and standards{{REGULATOR_AND_STANDARDS}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
Show all 14 fields
  • Local triage scale{{LOCAL_TRIAGE_SCALE}}
  • Local time critical pathways{{LOCAL_TIME_CRITICAL_PATHWAYS}}
  • Telephone triage protocol{{TELEPHONE_TRIAGE_PROTOCOL}}
  • Waiting room recheck policy{{WAITING_ROOM_RECHECK_POLICY}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run emergency department triage: Safe, consistent acuity assignment for nurses training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

Before a nurse first triages unsupervised, on return to triage after a break, and annually with a case review.

Who needs this training?

Registered nurses in emergency departments, urgent care and acute admission units, including new starters and staff returning to triage; run by the emergency department nurse educator or clinical education lead.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

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Last reviewed: 21 October 2026Templates are a starting point, not legal advice.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.

See the live deck