What it means
A way of deciding the order of care when there are more clients than staff can treat at once. In the emergency department, each client is given a level from most to least urgent. In a disaster with many injured people, START triage (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) sorts them by color: red for immediate care, yellow for delayed care, green for minor injuries ("walking wounded") and black for those who have died or are not expected to survive.
For the nurse
Triage questions on the exam ask who needs care first. Look for a threat to the airway, breathing or circulation, or a sudden change, before a problem that is uncomfortable but expected and stable.
In a chart
"Client triaged as red after the bus crash: respiratory rate 34 and no radial pulse."
Remember it
Triage comes from the French word for sorting.
At a glance
| Spanish | triaje |
|---|---|
| Also written | triaged, triaging |
Related terms
intervention
An action taken to help a client, such as a treatment, a test, a teaching session or a nursing action.
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Emergency chest compressions, with or without rescue breaths, to keep blood flowing when the heart has stopped.
stable
Describes a client whose condition is not changing and whose response to care can be predicted.