Two ENA-backed Studies Featured in January Journal of Emergency Nursing

Journal kicks off 50^th year with articles focusing on triage, ENP competencies

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (Jan. 14, 2025) – The Journal of Emergency Nursing celebrates 50 years of providing innovative research related to the emergency nursing specialty in 2025, and the first issue of the year features two ENA-driven backed research studies on key topics of interest in emergency care.

“I’m excited to start 2025, and the 50^th year of the Journal of Emergency Nursing off highlighting two studies coming from the Emergency Nurses Association research team,” said Journal of Emergency Nursing Editor-in-Chief Anna Valdez, PhD, RN, PHN, CEN, CFRN, CNE, FAEN, FAADN.

“Establishing Triage Competencies and Verifications Processes: A Survey Study” identified five competencies: clinical judgement, communication, expert assessment, timely decisions and management of medical resources. Researchers found that both manager-level and triage nurses agreed on the importance of the competencies, but they also reported gaps in training and education.

“Validation of Emergency Nurse Practitioner Competencies: Patient Complexity and Clinical Decision Making” focused on increasing the knowledge of the severity of patients assigned to emergency nurse practitioners. Researchers found that ENPs regularly manage patients with high acuity who require complex medical decision-making skills.

“The triage process results in a summative clinical judgment which can determine the patient’s care trajectory, and so establishing competencies to ensure that nurses making that initial judgment are appropriately educated and trained is critical,” said ENA Director of Research, Lisa Wolf, PhD, RN, CEN, FAEN, FAAN who served as lead author on both papers. “Similarly, understanding that ENPs are caring for patients of all acuities, not just fast track patients, is an important finding that can inform training and preparation for advanced practice nurses in the ED”

Journal readers can earn continuing education credits for reading articles each issue. Visit jenonline.org and click on the “Claim CNE” link to access the exam. CNE is available for all 2024 issues of the Journal.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer CNE’s to nurses for reading Journal articles,” said Valdez. “This is a great benefit for our readers, and one I hope they take advantage of.”

The Journal of Emergency Nursing, ENA’s peer-reviewed academic journal, is published six times a year with original research and updates from the emergency nursing specialty, while also covering practice and professional issues.

The January issue can be found online here. Other topics covered include noninvasive continuous blood pressure monitoring, availability of Certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in Appalachian States and more.

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