TRIAGE NURSES
wear many hats
throughout the day, not only
triaging phone calls, but providing
hands-on care to patients as well.
Here’s a look at many of the tasks
they perform.
Providing Care on the Phone
A majority of time throughout the
day is spent on the phone with
patients. When a patient places
a call to the clinic, it may be
forwarded to a triage nurse.
Calls to triage are often for the
following reasons:
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Patient medication refills.
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Pharmacy medication refills.
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Acute issues such as shortness
of breath or cardiac symptoms.
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Chronic problems.
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Requests for appointments.
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General advice or information.
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Requests for results.
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Critical lab values.
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Concerns about patients at
Eastview, Rosalia Gardens, Care
Partners, Evergreen Terrace,
or other assisted-living or
skilled-nursing facilities.
Triage nurses also receive
calls about prior authorizations,
questions from other health care
facilities regarding a mutual
patient, looking up immunization
records for parents, and even more!
Giving Care in Person
Another aspect of a triage nurse’s
job is providing hands-on care to
patients. Some examples include:
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Allergy injections.
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Drug screenings.
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Dressing changes.
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Bladder scans.
Had a good experience at Langlade
Hospital? Tell us! Go to
www.
langladehospital.org
, and
click on “Compliment a
Staff Member.”
Veronika Gagovic, MD, is a
board-certified Gastroenterologist
trained in the care and treatment
of digestive health disorders of
the stomach, intestines, liver and
pancreas and swallowing disorders.
Dr. Gagovic’s special interests
include colon cancer prevention,
inflammatory bowel disease such as
Crohn’s and colitis, Hepatology, and
women’s digestive health.
Dr. Gagovic graduated cum laude
with a degree in Biochemistry from
North Central College in Illinois. She
earned national recognition as a Soros
Fellow in addition to other honors
and awards.
After graduating from Stritch
School of Medicine at Loyola
University in Chicago, Dr. Gagovic
completed her residency at
Indiana University in Indianapolis,
followed by a fellowship program in
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
at the University of Wisconsin in
Madison.
Dr. Gagovic sees patients in clinic
and performs procedures in Antigo.
Call
800-847-4707
to schedule an
appointment with her.
Accepting New Patients:
Veronika Gagovic, MD
Veronika Gagovic,
MD
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Inserting or replacing Foley
catheters.
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Peripherally inserted central
catheter (PICC) line dressing
changes.
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Blood draws from PICC lines.
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Flushing port-a-caths.
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Assessing walk-in patients.
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Teaching, such as showing
patients how to use glucometers
or insulin pens.
Triage nurses also are in charge
during a code blue (cardiac arrest)
at the clinic.
Deciding the Next Step
When assessing a patient, triage
nurses decide the next step, whether
it be informing the provider,
scheduling a future appointment,
requesting a provider to see the
patient at that time, or a fast
intervention such as a visit to
the Emergency Department.
There are three
full-time triage registered
nurses employed at the
clinic, as well as one
who is part-time. They
are knowledgeable,
empathetic, able to
prioritize, dependable
and ready to help.
What Do
Triage Nurses
Do?
Kim
Kennedy, RN
6
Pathways •
