Interruption Managements Skills: Identifying and Addressing the Learning Needs of Medical Students: A Protocol for an Interview-based Study

Background and objectivesInterruptions during clinical activities are strongly associated with patient safety incidents in healthcare settings. Attempts have been made to teach medical students and doctors how to best manage interruptions, however evidence suggests that most doctors develop these skills through experience and that students feel ill-prepared when confronted with interruptions in the clinical setting. This study protocol presents a study that aims to inform, the development of an educational tool for undergraduate medical students on management on interruption management in the clinical setting. Informed by the ADDIE model of instructional design, a learning needs analysis will be conducted to determine what skills are needed to best manage workplace interruptions and how these skills would best be taught at an undergraduate level. Methods and AnalysisThis study will collect data through semi-structured interviews with medical students, medical educators and junior doctors. The interview protocol has been developed using the Critical Incidence Technique, in which real-life experiences will be used as a basis for reflection to determine what underlying lessons can be learnt from them. The interviews will be transcribed verbatim and undergo thematic analysis to determine what instructional goals need to be set for an educational tool and how such a tool should be designed. Ethics and DisseminationThis study has received full ethical approval from Cardiff University (SREC reference 23/67). Findings from the study will be disseminated by presentation at national and international conferences and publication through academic papers.