Abstract:
Registered General Nurses (RGNs) play crucial roles in emergency departments (EDs). EDs in Ghana are primarily staffed by RGNs
who have had no additional formal education in emergency care. Additionally, basic, master’s, or doctoral level nursing education
programs provide limited content on the complexities of emergency nursing. Nurses in EDs are affected by many challenges such
as growing patient population, financial pressures, physical violence, verbal abuse, operational inefficiencies, overcrowding, and
work overload. There is a paucity of research on challenges experienced by RGNs in EDs in the Volta Region of Ghana. In this
qualitative study, twenty RGNs in EDs from three selected hospitals in the Volta Region of Ghana were interviewed. All recorded
interviews were transcribed, reviewed several times by researchers and supervisors, and analyzed using content analysis. Five
thematic categories were identified. These thematic categories of challenges were lack of preparation for ED role, verbal abuse
from patients relatives, lack of resources in ED, stressful and time consuming nature of ED, and overcrowding in ED. Formal
education of RGNs in the advanced role of emergency care, adequate supply of resources, increased hospital management support,
and motivations for RGNs working in ED are necessary to improve the practice of emergency care.
