The important role that emergency departments have long played in our healthcare system is only growing. According to a 2022 report in the medical publication STAT, for more than 10 years, the number of visits to emergency departments has grown faster than the U.S. population. And as our population ages, the number of emergency department visits likely will continue to rise.
To function efficiently, emergency departments need competent triage nurses who can assess patients’ needs and identify the care they require. With the nation experiencing a shortage of nurses, triage travel nursing has become an option for experienced nurses to consider.
Individuals who are considering advancing in the nursing profession may find it helpful to explore what working as a traveling triage nurse entails and whether it aligns with their career goals.
What Triage Travel Nursing Entails
Nurses who focus on triage travel nursing typically take on temporary assignments in hospital emergency departments throughout the country that are short-staffed. Triage travel nurses are usually registered nurses with previous experience in general and emergency nursing care. The assignments they accept can range in length from a few weeks to several months, with the typical assignment lasting approximately 13 weeks.
What Triage Nurses Do
Triage nurses are the first healthcare professionals patients encounter in an emergency department. Triage nurses rely on their expertise to assess patients quickly and identify their healthcare needs. Examples of the responsibilities of a triage nurse include the following:
- Taking patients’ vital signs
- Performing examinations
- Obtaining information on patients’ medical histories
- Ordering patients’ tests
- Assessing the severity of patients’ medical issues
- Coordinating with other members of a healthcare team
With the rise of telehealth, triage nurses also can work as telephone triage nurses. In this role, triage nurses work for organizations such as crisis hotlines or telephone triage centers. Telephone triage nurses can be called upon to do anything from advising a patient on how to treat their cold symptoms to obtaining an ambulance for a patient who requires emergency care.
The Benefits of Working as a Traveling Triage Nurse
The dynamic and fast-paced nature of triage nursing can appeal to nurses seeking challenging work in which they can apply their professional judgment and expertise. Choosing to work as an emergency nurse in triage opens up the opportunity to care for patients with serious illnesses and injuries, which can make this type of nursing very rewarding.
In addition, becoming a traveling nurse offers unique benefits. For example, working as a travel nurse enables nurses to:
- Gain work experience at different healthcare provider locations
- Enhance their resumes with a variety of work experiences
- Explore living in various areas of the country
- Exercise flexibility in accepting assignments
- Build professional networks across multiple healthcare providers
Key Skills for Triage Nursing as a Travel Nurse
Registered nurses who want to work in triage nursing as a travel nurse can benefit from developing specific skills. Examples of those skills are highlighted below.
Clinical Skills
It’s important for triage nurses to have strong clinical skills in areas such as:
- Assessing patients’ symptoms and pain levels
- Administering medication, oxygen, and IVs
- Performing physical exams that are focused on a specific area of the body
- Ordering appropriate diagnostic tests
Prioritizing patients according to the severity of their illnesses or injuries is an important part of a triage nurse’s duties. Using their clinical expertise, triage nurses assign each patient an acuity level, which helps to identify which patients need care immediately. Adjusting patients’ acuity levels when their conditions change also is an important responsibility of triage nurses.
Communication Skills
Because they work in a fast-paced setting with patients who are experiencing a variety of illnesses and injuries, some of which may be severe, triage travel nurses need to be able to communicate clearly and succinctly both with their patients and with other healthcare professionals.
Decision-Making Skills
Assessing and prioritizing patients requires triage nurses to have solid decision-making skills. They need to be able to analyze information quickly and act on that information confidently.
Multitasking Skills
Anyone who has been to a busy emergency department knows that triage nurses benefit from having excellent multitasking abilities. Because they can’t control the volume of patients entering the emergency department, triage nurses need to be able to care for multiple patients as the need arises. Multitasking skills also help triage nurses to minimize patient wait times.
Practical Skills for Travel Nursing
To achieve success as a travel triage nurse, it’s helpful for nurses to build practical skills in areas such as:
- Organization. Due to the nature of their jobs, travel nurses have a lot of details to manage. For example, registered nurses need to be licensed in the states where they work, so traveling triage nurses need to keep track of licensure requirements across states, as well as their fulfillment of those requirements.
- Adaptability. Travel nurses need to adapt to a new environment every time they begin an assignment. Having the ability to acclimate to a healthcare setting quickly can help traveling triage nurses be effective.
- Teamwork. Team structures can differ across healthcare settings, so being able to act as an effective team member in any team structure is vital to working successfully as a travel triage nurse.
- Emotional intelligence. A deep well of emotional intelligence can be highly desirable for a traveling triage nurse. Characteristics such as self-confidence and responsibility help these nurses do their jobs well.
Employment Outlook for Triage Travel Nurses
The nationwide nursing shortage translates into an attractive employment outlook for triage travel nurses. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the U.S. healthcare system will have about 193,100 job openings available for nurses each year through 2032.
In addition, a study published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing in 2023 discussed significant issues regarding nursing shortages in emergency departments, including shortages of staff to conduct triage work. Because of these shortages, traveling triage nurses could have attractive prospects for employment.
Explore Your Career Options in Triage Travel Nursing
Triage nurses who travel to work at different healthcare provider locations have the opportunity to do fulfilling work while exploring new areas of the country. Relying on their expertise, triage travel nurses have the chance to help patients who may be experiencing the most significant healthcare issues they may ever face.
Registered nurses who are looking to pursue career advancement in a field such as triage travel nursing can explore Denver College of Nursing’s online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) program or online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program to learn how enrolling in a degree program can help them achieve their goals.
Denver College of Nursing also offers on-campus Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs for individuals who are looking to enter the nursing profession as a registered nurse. Take the first step toward your nursing career goals today.
Recommended Readings
Four Reasons Becoming a Traveling Nurse Might Be Right for You
Tips for Applying to Nursing School
Types of Nursing Degrees