Hazards Of Interruption

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Summary of Content and Context
This article discusses the importance of reducing interruptions during medication administration and ways to educate the heathcare staff in the hazards of interruptions. According to Lewis et al. (2012) “each interruption is associated with a 12.7% increase in medication errors.” The impact of interruptions in the clinical environment can result in serious or deadly mistakes. In the healthcare environment interruption include overhead pages, alarms, rounding by healthcare providers, and questions from other nurses or family members. Family members and healthcare providers may not consider the impact of their interruption on others; this is why it is critical to educate them about the hazards of interruptions. …show more content…

Before readying this article I didn’t consider the potential impact of interruptions on others. I agree with the author that it is important to educate healthcare providers, families and nursing students about the hazards of interruptions. I think that the rubric the author provides could help decrease unnecessary interruptions and decrease medication administration errors.
In the future, I am going to carefully analyze each situation to avoid any unnecessary distractions or interruptions. I think that at the beginning of my nursing practice I am going to use the guidelines for healthcare staff to lessen interruptions. This is a very helpful tool to help you determined whether or not to interrupt a nurse. Another strategy that I would like to use in my future nursing practice is the “No Interruption Zone”. During the “No Interruption Zone” a nurse wore a bright yellow vest or sash that meant do not interrupt this nurse. The nurse would wear the sash during medication preparation and administration. According to Lewis et al. (2012) this strategy” reduced errors by 47% in a 5 to 6 month period.” I think the benefits of this strategy are significant and I would like to use this strategy when I start working or help implement

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