Teaching and Practice of the Stay SAFE Interruption Management Strategy in Simulated Contexts

Author(s) Information

Ginger Schroers, Loyola University ChicagoFollow

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the Stay SAFE interruption management strategy. Stay SAFE is an acronym for: Stay where you are, Stay engaged with the task, Associate cues, Find a natural break in the task to pause, and Evaluate the urgency of the interruption.

Background and significance

Interruptions are prevalent in healthcare settings, increase risks for errors, and decrease task efficiency. Experts recommend that nurses and nursing students learn interruption management strategies (i.e., how to handle interruptions) to mitigate risks.

Theoretical/Conceptual framework

The Memory for Goals (MFG) cognitive science model guided the development of the strategy. The MFG model asserts that forming associative cues (i.e., retrieval cues) during an interrupted task can decrease errors and improve task efficiency.

Method

Volunteer undergraduate nursing students participated in a repeated measures multi-methods feasibility study. Simulated interrupted medication administration scenarios served as the pre/posttests. Participants’ interruption management behaviors were assessed during a pretest (baseline), they learned and practiced the Stay SAFE strategy, then were assessed during the first posttest. Four to eight weeks later, participants’ behaviors were assessed during the second posttest. Data on interruption management behaviors were collected via direct observation. Qualitative data were collected via written self-reflections and semi-structured interviews.

Results

During the pretest, all participants engaged or multitasked when interrupted. Most (89%) used the Stay SAFE strategy during the first posttest, and all used the strategy in the second posttest. Applying the strategy had a mean duration of 4 seconds (SD:4.23s). Participants described the strategy as easy to use and remember, voiced increased confidence in handling interruptions after learning the strategy, and reported using the strategy outside of the study.

Conclusions

The study findings support the feasibility and acceptability of the Stay SAFE strategy. Further investigation is needed to determine the strategy’s impact on errors and task efficiency, and application in various contexts.