Definitions of sources of interruption and distraction assessed on the medication rounds
| Source of interruption and distraction | Definition |
| Staff nurses | Interruptions and distractions caused by staff nurses not involved in administering medications |
| Doctors | Interruptions and distractions resulting from doctors on the ward |
| Personnel | Interruptions and distractions caused by hospital staff, other than staff nurses and doctors—for example, healthcare assistants |
| Visitors | Interruption and distractions arising from members of the public visiting patients on the ward |
| Other patient | Interruption and distraction of the nurse by a patient other than the one to whom the nurse is currently administering medications |
| Conversation | Initiation of conversation unrelated to the task of administering medications, by the nurse undertaking the round |
| Missing medication | Required medication is not on the trolley, resulting in the nurse abandoning the round to retrieve it from the clinic room |
| Noise | Environmental noise that results in the nurse being visibly distracted or interrupted from the task of administering medication |
| Telephone | Nurse distracted by a ringing telephone or abandoning the round in order to answer it |
| Emergency | Occurrence of an emergency situation—for example, a cardiac arrest, visibly distracting the nurse or requiring the nurse administering medications to abandon the round |
| Other | Miscellaneous interruptions and distractions not assignable to any of the other categories |