Emergency Nurse as Hospital Clinical Team Coordinator - Shining a light into the night

Background: The Clinical Team Coordinator (CTC) is a senior experienced nurse from the Emergency Department (ED) that provides an after-hours clinical supervision and liaison service for the entire hospital. The role guides and supports nursing and junior medical staff regarding clinical and hospital procedures, protocols and individual patient problems and assists with clinical issues on the wards such as patient assessment and management. Method: Following a qualitative evaluation of the CTC role in 2009, the scope of activity and impact on clinical services after hours was established through shift data collation and analysis during the calendar year 2011. Results: In 2011, the CTC was directly involved with 18,165 occasions of care across the evening and night shift periods, with only one third of these calls requiring Resident Medical Officer (RMO) attention. The CTC role reviews patients, provides support and advice, facilitates impromptu education and learning, as well as assists nursing and medical staff with difficult and complex clinical tasks. Conclusion: Senior clinical nursing support from the CTC has been well received from nursing and medical staff and the role is now a permanently established in the hospital. (C) 2012 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.