Close the LoopThe Nurse Interruption Management Uniform

Kushal Waghmare Ann Rogers

COA 8823/CS 8803 ICU of the FutureFall 2010, Georgia Institute of Technology

04/20/23 1

Interruptions – A major problem for ICU nurses

• They cause errors in medication administration, decreasing patient safety.

2"Close the Loop" – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers04/20/23

• They increase the cognitive load of the interruptee, impairing performance on complex tasks.• They increase stress levels of the interruptee.• They increase the completion time of interrupted task.

Existing Strategies and their shortcomings

Vests and Sashes worn over scrub:• Nurses have initial reluctance to adopt due to aesthetics: associations

with beauty queens and construction workers• Use of red color excludes color-blind people, and use of text excludes

those who do not read English.3"Close the Loop" – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers04/20/23

Existing Strategies and their shortcomings

No Interruption Zones:• Immobile

*All existing solutions fail to address other areas of nursing that may benefit from management of interruptions

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• Nurse scrub with an integrated availability indicator.

• Fabric and Digital Versions offer different benefits.

• Indicates three levels of availability, based on

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Symbols – indicate availability status

• Busy in a task of high acuity Medication Administration, Charting, Assessment of vital

signs, Care Coordination

• Busy in a task of medium acuity Providing Education, Talking to Patient / Family,

Transporting Patients, Admission and Discharge Routines

No symbol -> Task of low acuity Walking, Cleaning

6"Close the Loop" – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers04/20/23

Fabric Solution

• Patch on the sleeve• Multiple layers of clothing to display symbols• Nurse can flip through the symbols Inexpensive, convenient to store, washX Sanitation issues

7"Close the Loop" – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers04/20/23

Digital Solution

• LEDs, Lilypad Arduino, Switches• Press a switch to display symbols through LEDs • Washable, durable Easy to operate, quick,X Expensive

8"Close the Loop" – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers04/20/23

Enhancements

Full scale ethnographic study to ascertain exact effects of interruptions on nursing tasks

Touchless sensorRobust sewing for digital version, hidden

conductive thread

9"Close the Loop" – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers04/20/23

Thank You. Team “Close the Loop” – Kushal Waghmare, Ann Rogers

1004/20/23