Frequency of interruptions in 12 categories of activities as presented by groups of ED clinicians (n=18) related to the total amount of interruptions
| Frequency of interruptions for each category of activity | Frequency of interruptions for the three groups of clinicians | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories of activities | Frequency of observed activities n | Frequency of interruptions for each category of activity n (%) | MDs n (%) | RNs n (%) | LPNs n (%) | Total n (%) |
| Preparation of medication | 7 | 2 (28.6) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (4.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.1) |
| Documentation | 119 | 32 (26.9) | 24 (32.9) | 4 (8.0) | 4 (6.6) | 32 (17.4) |
| Patient/family-nurse/doctor interaction | 176 | 34 (19.3) | 10 (13.7) | 5 (10.0) | 19 (31.1) | 34 (18.5) |
| Preparation of medical-technical tasks | 21 | 4 (19.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (6.0) | 1 (1.6) | 4 (2.2) |
| Administration | 133 | 21 (15.8) | 4 (5.5) | 8 (16.0) | 9 (14.8) | 21 (11.4) |
| Patient data analysis | 57 | 8 (14.0) | 2 (2.7) | 1 (2.0) | 5 (8.2) | 8 (4.3) |
| Transportation | 117 | 12 (10.3) | 4 (5.5) | 3 (6.0) | 5 (8.2) | 12 (6.5) |
| Organisational planning | 20 | 2 (10.0) | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.6) | 2 (1.1) |
| Information seeking | 243 | 23 (9.5) | 10 (13.7) | 9 (18.0) | 4 (6.6) | 23 (12.5) |
| Maintenance | 69 | 5 (7.2) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.0) | 4 (6.6) | 5 (2.7) |
| Information exchange | 793 | 37 (4.7) | 14 (19.2) | 14 (28.0) | 9 (14.8) | 37 (20.1) |
| Break | 104 | 4 (3.8) | 4 (5.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (2.2) |
| Total | 1882 | 184 | 73 (100) | 50 (100) | 61 (100) | 184 (100) |
ED, emergency department; LPNs, licensed practical nurses; MDs, medical doctors; RNs, registered nurses.