A description of emergency nursing in a Danish context through focus group interviews

• Emergency nursing described through three overarching practice themes. • Nurses balance rapid clinical assessment with communication and coordination. • Focus groups reveal invisible yet essential elements of emergency nursing. • Findings align with global descriptions of emergency nursing complexity. • Study offers a detailed empirical account of Danish emergency nursing practice. Emergency nursing is a multifaceted practice shaped by rapid patient turnover, clinical uncertainty, and increasing care complexity. Despite their central role in ensuring patient safety, the specific tasks and roles of emergency nurses remain underexplored. A qualitative descriptive design was applied using four focus group interviews with nineteen nurses from four Danish emergency departments. Participants were purposively selected to represent a range of roles and functions. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis. Three overarching themes captured the scope of emergency nursing: (1) Clinical Assessment, (2) Communication and relational care, and (3) Coordination and system navigation. Emergency nurses described themselves as adaptive experts balancing technical, relational, and organizational demands in high-pressure contexts. The findings demonstrate that emergency nursing extends beyond clinical procedures to encompass relational and system-level responsibilities. Recognizing this multidimensional scope may strengthen role clarity and inform workforce planning, education, and quality improvement.