Nurses' Work Interruptions and Responses: Multitasking During Medication Tasks and Differences by Nursing Delivery...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Work interruptions significantly increase nurses' workload complexity and the risk of errors by compromising attention.
• Understanding the frequency, sources, and impact of interruptions is crucial for improving nursing practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the frequency and sources of work interruptions experienced by nurses.
• To analyze nurses' responses to interruptions, particularly multitasking during medication administration.
• To compare interruption patterns between functional and integrated nursing care delivery systems.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional observational study using the Work Observation Method by Activity Timing (WOMBAT) program.
• Data collected from nurses in functional and integrated nursing care units at a South Korean general hospital.
• Analysis of interruptions and multitasking during medication-related work.

Main Results:

• Nurses experienced 11.21 interruptions/hour in functional units and 9.27 in integrated units.
• The nurse station and patient rooms were the most interrupted locations; other nurses and patients were primary sources.
• Multitasking during medication administration occurred 2.79% (functional) and 3.02% (integrated) of the time, often involving communication.

Conclusions:

• Frequent work interruptions and multitasking negatively impact medication-related tasks, posing risks to patient safety.
• Developing targeted strategies to mitigate interruptions is essential for healthcare environments.
• Interventions should consider the specific characteristics of different nursing care delivery systems.