Evaluation of Nursing Students’ Knowledge of Incident Scene Triage

Background: Triage is a critical component of emergency and disaster response, and nurses' knowledge of triage procedures is essential for rapid and accurate clinical decision-making.

Aim: This study aimed to assess nursing students' knowledge of incident scene triage and examine its associations with sociodemographic and educational characteristics.

Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study included 176 fourth-year nursing students at a foundation university. Data were collected between March and June 2025 using a Student Information Form and the Triage Knowledge Scale administered face-to-face. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and Spearman’s correlation analysis. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: Of the participants, 71% were female, and the mean age was 23.69±2.85 years. Overall, 17% had received extracurricular triage-related training, 38.1% held a first aid certificate, and 6.3% had attended a triage-related seminar or conference. The mean triage knowledge score was 9.99±2.14 (range: 5–14, median: 10), and 54.5% of students demonstrated low knowledge levels. Extracurricular triage-related education (p<0.001) and enrollment in emergency and/or disaster nursing courses (p<0.001) were positively associated with higher knowledge scores.

Conclusion: Nursing students generally demonstrated low levels of knowledge regarding incident scene triage. Enrollment in emergency and disaster nursing courses, as well as participation in extracurricular triage-related education, emerged as important factors associated with higher triage knowledge levels among nursing students. These findings highlight the importance of systematically integrating triage education into undergraduate nursing curricula to strengthen students’ preparedness for emergency and disaster situations.

Keywords: Disaster nursing, emergency nursing, nursing education