Table 2.
Distribution of task times, multitasking and interruption rates
| Task category | Number of tasks (%) | Task time (hours) | Mean task time (s) | % task time spent multitasking (95% CI) | Interruption rate per hour, (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct care | 1102 (21.1) | 34.6 | 112 | 42.8 (26.3 to 59.3) | 4.4 (3.8 to 5.1) |
| Indirect care | 1221 (23.4) | 28.8 | 85 | 20.0 (5.4 to 34.6) | 6.0 (5.2 to 6.9) |
| Documentation | 224 (4.3) | 3.8 | 61 | 12.6 (0 to 46) | 8.4 (6.1 to 11.5) |
| In transit | 814 (15.6) | 7.3 | 32 | 9.9 (0 to 31.6) | 10.3 (8.3 to 12.5) |
| Professional communication | 1478 (28.3) | 17.7 | 43 | 42.2 (19.2 to 65.2) | 3.5 (2.7 to 4.4) |
| Social | 196 (3.7) | 12.0 | 220 | 7.2 (0 to 21.8) | 1.4 (0.9 to 2.2) |
| Supervision or education | 162 (3.1) | 9.2 | 204 | 41.6 (9.8 to 73.5) | 4.6 (3.4 to 6.0) |
| Administrative | 30 (0.6) | 3.2 | 384 | 7.8 (0 to 37.2) | 4.7 (2.9 to 7.5) |
Task times do not add to 100 hours because some tasks were undertaken simultaneously (ie, when multitasking).