Authors

  1. Freeman, Regi MSN, RN, CNS
  2. McKee, Scott BSN, RN
  3. Lee-Lehner, Bethany BSN, RN
  4. Pesenecker, Jennifer BSN, RN

Abstract

In the fast-paced environment of a cardiac and thoracic surgery telemetry unit, nurses are interrupted hundreds of times per day. These interruptions can have a detrimental effect on patient safety during medication administration. This article describes a bundle of safety interventions that reduced the average number of interruptions during medication administration by 2.11 interruptions per encounter and decreased reported medication errors by a total of 28 incidents over a 3-month period.