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A day in the life of an emergency triage nurse

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As the lead triage nurse at Semmelweis University’s Department of Emergency Medicine, Viktória Vincze has no more than three minutes to assess how urgent a patient’s condition is and identify exactly what care is needed. In our photo report, we take you through one of her night shifts to demonstrate the work that goes on in the emergency room as well as the essence of triage.

Click on the pictures to read our photo report.

Viktória Vincze studied journalism but didn’t want to work in the media. “Grey’s Anatomy, however, was one of my favorite TV series,” she says, pointing out her inspiration at the time. Thanks to this, she eventually completed a three-year training program to become a specialist adult nurse, which also required her to undertake more than 1,000 hours of clinical practice. After several years of experience as a specialist nurse, she began working at Semmelweis University in 2016 when the Emergency Room Department (SBO) was launched. Following a six-year detour at the Military Hospital (now the North Pest Central Hospital – Military Hospital), she returned in 2025 to Semmelweis University’s Department of Emergency Medicine, headed by Dr. Bánk Fenyves.

Gallery

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We accompanied Viktória Vincze on one of her Monday evening shifts in August. A shift like this runs from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., but Viktória arrives as early as 6:45 p.m. to take over duties from her morning colleague. She receives a short briefing, and then it’s time to get to work.
The first patient arrives quickly - an elderly woman brought to the department by paramedics. Viktória gets the most important basic information from the paramedics and immediately begins the examination. According to official international guidelines, the triage nurse must assess the patient’s condition within three minutes.

Ádám Szabó
Translation: Dr. Balázs Csizmadia
Photos by Bálint Barta – Semmelweis University