Objective:

To identify the role of nursing staff on rapid response teams in cases of cardiorespiratory arrest on different continents.

Methods:

An integrative review of the literature was performed. Searches were conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs and CINAHL databases for studies published in Portuguese, English or Spanish between 2010 and 2020 that investigated the role of nursing staff on rapid response teams. The following search terms were used: rapid response team, nursing care, multiprofessional team, cardiac arrest and nursing.

Results:

The sample included six articles, half of which were from North America. The role of nurses on rapid response teams involved two dimensions: direct care for critical patients until the arrival of medical staff and the administrative functions of continuing education activities, the development of clinical protocols, improvement of communication between different sectors and care management.

Conclusions:

Nursing staff on rapid response teams play the role of coordinator of multiple care and management activities for hospitalized patients with signs of clinical deterioration who require immediate intervention.

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