Emergency Severity Index

The training materials, include four lectures, 26 practice cases, and additional written materials, including an implementation handbook.

Recommended Sequence for Viewing by Administrators

Lecture Videos

Available on YouTube:

Why Use Version 4? Advantages for Emergency Department Leadership
An Overview of the ESI, Version 4 Algorithm
Transition to Version 4 (for those already using Version 3)
Implementation Strategies

Practice Cases

Preview to determine which cases will be used for training and exactly which format will be most useful in your particular setting.

Recommended Sequence for Training Triage Nurses

An Overview of the ESI, Version 4 Algorithm
Practice cases (stopping approximately every 3 cases for group discussion)
The version 3-4 lecture is helpful for both administrators and triage nurses in emergency departments that are already using ESI version 3.

Note: We recommend that there is opportunity for small group discussion while viewing lectures 2 and 3. We do not recommend nurses watch this video in isolation without an opportunity to discuss and ask questions.

Additional Materials

The following items can be downloaded and printed:

Algorithm card (PDF, 142 KB) and poster (PDF, 45 KB)
Slides for lectures
- Why Use Version 4: Advantages for Emergency Department Leadership (PDF, 997.5 KB)
- An Overview of the ESI Version 4 Algorithm (PDF, 682 KB)
- Transition to Version 4 (for those already using Version 3) (PDF, 268.3 KB)
- Implementation Strategies (PDF, 162 KB)
Slides for practice cases (PDF, 70.4 KB)
Test cases to test proficiency (PDF, 161.7 KB); text-only version (PDF, 86.9 KB)
Research references (PDF, 75 KB)

Additional materials can be found in the Emergency Severity Index, Version 4: Implementation Handbook.