Managing interruptions and resuming medication-related tasks in hospital nursing: a critical narrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35381/s.v.v10i2.5267Keywords:
Medication errors, patient safety, nursing staff, medication systems, hospital, attention, (Source: DeCS).Abstract
Introduction: Interruptions during medication preparation and administration are frequent in hospitals and are associated with medication errors. Objective: To analyze how hospital nurses handle these interruptions, how they resume the task, and what is known about their consequences for patient safety. Methods: Critical narrative review based on focused searches of PubMed, journal websites and other academic resources up to October 11, 2026. Results: Nurses suspend the task, multitask, postpone the request or leave cues to resume it. Some studies recorded abandoned tasks and others behavioral changes after educational interventions, but accurate resumption and subsequent errors have rarely been measured. Conclusion: Being interrupted, resuming and safely completing the task are different situations, and no resumption strategy has been shown to consistently reduce medication errors.
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