The role of the nurse in the trauma team
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A critical exploration of the role of the nurse in the trauma team: An ethnographic case study
IRAS ID
263584
Contact name
Jane Tippett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
This qualitative case study, in collaboration with the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, aims to critically examine the role of the nurse as a member of the trauma team and explore their contribution in the management and care of the trauma patient in a UK Major Trauma Centre (MTC). In the UK trauma system, nurses are core members of the trauma team but little is known about the role of the nurse or in what ways nurse behaviours observed in the resuscitation room influence the care and treatment of the patient.
Documentary analysis of the nurses’ role in the trauma team will be compared and analysed with observations of the nurses’ roles as a team member in the resuscitation room and interviews of nurses and trauma team members.
The most seriously injured patients are taken to a MTC where a trauma team will be activated following a call from the pre-hospital services. As the most seriously injured patients are taken to MTCs, there is increased potential to explore, in detail, the role and scope of the nurse in the trauma team.
The study will last up to 12 months and will use the following methods:
1. Video-recorded observations and non-participant observations of nurses as members of the trauma team will be recorded in the resuscitation room, to examine the role of the nurse.
2. Semi-structured interviews with nurses and other members of the team to understand the perceived role of the nurse.
3. Nurses, who formed part of the trauma team, will be invited to review the video recorded data and thus provide further commentary and explanation on their role in the resuscitation room.These findings will be used to develop policy and practice recommendations to demonstrate the nurses’ contribution to the care of the seriously injured patient.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0438
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion