In hospitals, nurses often interrupt one another to ask for help. These interruptions can be problematic for the interrupted nurse as they may experience an increased risk of error when they resume their task, which can negatively impact patient care. Thus, researchers have attempted to reduce the frequency of interruptions in hospitals through interventions, but this has not always been successful. Interruptions may be vital for patient safety, such as if the interrupting nurse needs help with a deteriorating patient or an important task. The role of interruptions for the interrupting nurse and the interrupted nurse therefore needs to be considered.

This talk advocates for a computational modelling approach to better understand the role and effects of interruptions on the healthcare team, at a systems-level. The predictions from the model will be discussed, particularly how urgency of tasks, the importance of tasks for patient safety, and the cost of being interrupted, can affect the nursing team when handling interruptions. These predictions give insight into situations in which interruptions may help versus hinder the team. This talk discusses how our model can be used in practice to inform future interventions and ensure that nurses handle interruptions efficiently while maintaining patient safety.

1) Demonstrate an understanding of the role of interruptions for both the interrupter and interruptee
2) Critique the conventional approach to studying interruptions in healthcare and advocate for a systems-level approach using computational modelling
3) Discuss how interruptions can help or hinder the healthcare team in different situations using predictions from the model

Emma Knight, Prof. Penelope Sanderson, Prof. Andrew Neal, Dr Timothy Ballard