The effect of a safe zone on nurse interruptions, distractions, and medication administration errors

Mindy Yoder¹, Diane Schadewald, Kim Dietrich

• ¹School of Health Sciences, University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Dr Yoder); College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Dr Schadewald); and Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Ms Dietrich). Mindy Yoder, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, is associate professor and dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She has been a family nurse practitioner for 18 years. Diane Schadewald, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, WHNP-BC, is a clinical associate professor and the family nurse practitioner coordinator at the College of Nursing of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Previously, she was the project advisor for Dr Yoder at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. Kim Dietrich, MA, is a research and assessment analyst in the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at the University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana. She conducts institutional research, specializing in university assessments and statistics.