Injury to the posterolateral corner of the knee: emergency department assessment and management.

Registered advanced nurse practitioners (RANPs) are recognised as senior decision makers within the emergency department team (ED). The RANP employs a range of skills such as comprehensive health history, advanced physical examination, problem solving, clinical decision-making, and expert judgment to formulate diagnoses andmanagement plans for their patient’s health care needs (Gibbons, 2013). Nurses working in Advanced Practice roles are an increasingly vital component of the multidisciplinary approach to care delivery within the Irish emergency care setting (HSE, 2013a). RANPs are recognised as a senior clinical decision maker within the emergency department team (HSE, 2013b). RANPs are increasingly extending and expanding their scope of practice beyond their initial competencies (Lowe, 2010), and must therefore be aware of emerging trends in injury presentations. To ensure optimal patient care many of these patient care episodes are managed collaboratively with other health care professionals (NCNM, 2008).