Mediating Pathways of Critical Thinking and Intuition on Triage Competency in Emergency Nurses: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

BACKGROUND: Triage competency requires sophisticated cognitive processing. The mechanisms through which critical thinking and intuition influence specific competency dimensions remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to examine mediating pathways through which critical thinking disposition and intuitive expertise influence triage competency in emergency nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with 145 Korean emergency nurses used structural equation modeling with bootstrap resampling (5000 iterations) to examine mediation pathways. RESULTS: Critical thinking exerted strong indirect effects through all 3 mediators. Clinical judgment served as the primary pathway, accounting for 94% of total effect (β =.478, 95% CI [0.337, 0.624]). Significant indirect effects occurred through timely decision (β =.324) and expert assessment (β =.265). Intuitive expertise showed positive but nonsignificant relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Critical thinking enhances triage competency primarily through clinical judgment. Educational interventions should prioritize critical thinking development and clinical judgment training.