Creating a Distraction Simulation for Safe Medication Administration

Nurse interrupted: Development of a realistic medication administration simulation for undergraduate nurses

“…One study (Thomas, McIntosh & Allen 2014), created simulated auditory distractions using headphones to develop student understanding of the relationship between distractions and medication error rates during MA. Identification of management strategies were discussed during the debriefing that followed the simulation, however the opportunity to extend the reflective process outside the simulation laboratory environment was not offered, nor was the chance for the students to immerse themselves in the role of the patient or the interrupter to feel what it was like from the perspective of others.…”

Calm to chaos: Engaging undergraduate nursing students with the complex nature of interruptions during medication administration

“…This is concerning given the impact of medication error (Flanders & Clark, ; MacDonald, ; Roughead & Semple, ). One study (Thomas, McIntosh, & Allen, ) exposed undergraduate nurses to auditory distractions using headphones during medication administration which highlighted to students the impact of auditory distractions and the increased risk of medication errors, but did not report the formulation of management strategies to manage multiple and varied interruptions, nor did it describe the students feeling better prepared for practice as a result. In contrast, the opportunity to practise difficult skills such as medication administration in a simulated chaotic environment was reported by students in our study as a positive step towards feeling better prepared for practice.…”

Using Simulation-Based Education to Teach Interruption Management Skills: An Integrative Review

“…While two of the studies included some information about the debrief method, neither reported the facilitators' debriefing qualifications ( Thomas, 2015;Thomas et al, 2015 ). Simulation fidelity ranged in complexity from laboratory settings ( Thomas et al, 2014 ) to detailed simulated hospital units ( Ford et al, 2017 ;Henneman et al, 2018 ;Thomas et al, 2015 ). Even among the most complex set-tings, no information was provided for the validity of the simulation scenario or the accuracy of the 'patient' records ( Ford et al, 2017 ;Thomas et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Medical and interprofessional graduate students, and practicing nurses received robust experiences that were created based on literature evidence regarding the occur- rence of interruptions during clinical practice ( Ford et al, 2017 ;Henneman et al, 2018, Rochman et al 2012Thomas et al, 2015 ). Studies using nursing students relied on role-playing of conversational interruptions ( Hayes et al, 2015 ) or the use of headphones with simulated environmental sounds and conversations ( Thomas et al, 2014 ). Despite literature evidence showing that interruptions occur throughout all aspects of patient care ( Cole et al, 2016 ;Myers & Parikh, 2019 ;Prates & Silva, 2016 ), most studies in this review focused on medication administration.…”

“…Experiencing interruptions helped participants recognize how concentra-tion is impacted, and why it is important to develop interruption management strategies ( Hayes et al, 2017 ;Henneman, 2018 ;Rochman et al, 2012 ). Frequent interruptions were also associated with increased frustration and decreased concentration ( Hayes et al, 2018 ;Thomas et al, 2014 ). Appreciation for how interruptions impact others was also discovered ( Rochman et al, 2012 ;Thomas et al, 2014 ).…”