Impact of Interruptions, Distractions, and Cognitive Load on Procedure Failures and Medication Administration Errors

Abstract

Medication administration errors are difficult to intercept since they occur at the end of the process. The study describes interruptions, distractions, and cognitive load experienced by registered nurses during medication administration and explores their impact on procedure failures and medication administration errors. The focus of this study was unique as it investigated how known individual and environmental factors interacted and culminated in errors.