Telephone Triage Seminars Speaker and Agenda

Seminars | speaker & agendas

ONE DAY SEMINAR: Telephone Triage - How to Practice Nursing Over the Phone

This one-day seminar is designed for RNs performing telephone triage in the ambulatory care setting. The primary emphasis of the day will be on the clinical practice of telephone triage. We will define telephone triage, discuss misconceptions about this practice, and debunk elements of conventional wisdom about telephone triage. Standards will be described, as well as clinical pitfalls that inform the basic skill set for the telephone triage nurse. Critical thinking and decision making in uncertain conditions will be discussed. Practical skills including patient assessment over the telephone, interviewing, documentation, and appropriate use of decision support tools will round out the day. Principles of risk management in telephone triage will be incorporated throughout the seminar.

AGENDA

8:00-9:00 - Telephone Triage: What it is, what it isn't, and what it means to nursing practice
9:00-10:00 - Standards directing the practice of telephone triage nursing
10:15-12:00 - Clinical pitfalls and the basic skillset for telephone triage
1:00-2:45 - Telephone triage theory, critical thinking, and decision making
3:00-3:30 - The patient interview
3:30-4:30 - Patient assessment over the phone
4:30-4:45 - Documentation and use of decision support tools
4:45-4:55 - Risk management in telephone triage
4:55-5:00 - Evaluation

TWO DAY SEMINAR: Telephone Triage As Professional Nursing Practice - Improve Quality and Reduce Risk

The two-day seminar incorporates a more thorough discussion of topics offered in the one-day seminar, especially in the areas of decision making and critical thinking, using real-life examples to illustrate. When bad outcomes occur, they are more often related to poor program design than nurse competency. Content is offered to highlight and address the elements of organizational program design that, if not properly executed, can negatively impact or thwart the delivery of high-quality, safe patient care, increasing the risk not only to the patient, but further exposing the nurse and the organization to liability. The emphasis of the day will be on professional nursing practice and on patient safety and risk management in telephone triage.

SPEAKER

Kathryn Koehne, DNP, RN-BC, C-TNP
Nationally Recognized Telephone Triage Expert, Speaker, Author

Kathryn Koehne has over 30 years’ experience in nursing, 20 years of which have been in telephone triage nursing practice. In her role as nurse educator, writer and consultant, Kathryn has provided numerous educational offerings related to telephone triage, and for over 10 years, she has served as a columnist for AAACN Viewpoint’s Telehealth Trials and Triumphs. Board certified in ambulatory care nursing and certified in telephone nursing practice, Kathryn has participated in the development of national telehealth standards and has served as an expert witness in litigation pertaining to telephone nursing practice. Kathryn is certified in Health Care Design and has completed training in the Lean Six Sigma methodology. She developed and implemented a telehealth initiative across a tri-state region for an integrated health system in the Midwest. In 2015, Kathryn received her Doctorate in Health

Innovation and Leadership from the University of Minnesota.

AGENDA

DAY 1

8:00-9:45 - Telephone Triage: What it is, what it isn't, and what it means to nursing practice
10:00-12:00 - Standards directing the practice of telephone triage nursing
1:00-2:45 - Clinical pitfalls and the basic skill set for telephone triage
3:00-5:00 - Must-have policies and best practices to support safe program design and reduce risk

DAY 2

8:00-10:30 - Telephone triage theory, critical thinking, and decision making
10:30-11:00 - Review of recent research in the field
11:00-12:00 - Communication and the patient interview
1:00-3:00 - Patient assessment over the phone
3:15-4:00 - Documentation and use of decision support tools
4:00-4:45 - Risk management in telephone triage
4:45-5:00 - Evaluation