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Related Experiment Videos

Disruption caused by the house officer's bleep: a simple solution

J T Lear1, M J Kelly, C Worley

  • 1Leicester General Hospital.

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
|January 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

Implementing a new system significantly reduced disruptive bleep calls for surgical house officers. This change decreased inappropriate calls and interruptions during patient care, improving workflow.

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Area of Science:

  • Medical Sciences
  • Healthcare Management
  • Surgical Training

Background:

  • The constant disruption from bleep (paging) systems significantly impacts the workflow and efficiency of surgical house officers.
  • Previous research on the disruptive effects of paging systems in hospital settings is limited.
  • Understanding and mitigating these disruptions is crucial for improving resident well-being and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of a new system for managing bleep calls to reduce disruptions for surgical house officers.
  • To assess the impact of the intervention on the frequency and appropriateness of bleep calls.
  • To determine the effect on house officer availability for patient care.

Main Methods:

  • A 'control' week involved charting all bleep calls received by a surgical house officer, noting time, caller, and house officer activity.

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  • A 'test' week introduced a system where only the nurse in charge could initiate bleep calls, with tasks posted on a ward board.
  • Both bleep call data and house officer involvement in patient care were recorded and compared between the two weeks.

    • Main Results:

    • Inappropriate bleep calls from nurses decreased from 58% to 15% (p < 0.01).
    • Total nurses' bleep calls before 5 pm fell by two-thirds (p < 0.01).
    • House officer involvement in direct patient care increased as bleeps during these times decreased from 46% to 28%.

    Conclusions:

    • A simple policy change, designating the nurse in charge to handle bleep calls and utilizing a task board, significantly reduces disruptions for surgical house officers.
    • This intervention leads to a substantial decrease in unnecessary paging and improves house officer availability for patient care.
    • The findings suggest a practical and effective strategy for enhancing the daily workflow and reducing interruptions in surgical residency programs.