Public Health and Community Nursing Commons^™

In a study to decrease medication administration errors, nurses wore brightly colored sashes as a symbol they were performing the important task of giving meds and were not to be interrupted. Situated within Watson’s Caritas theory, the study gave nurses the opportunity to “center” themselves to enhance focus and concentration on medication administration. While nurses appreciated the opportunity to concentrate on administering meds without interruptions by other staff or phone calls, they worried that patient care coordination for which they were responsible was suffering. Interventions focused on enhancing safety of a single task may be incongruent with total patient-centered care.