Table 2.

Definitions used in our study as adapted from [11, 12].

Term	Definition
Distractor	The trigger that can cause one to become distracted.
Distraction	A momentary lapse of attention on the primary task without suspending it. Examples: • answering a question whilst continuing with the task; • listening to a story told by one of the team members whilst going on with the task or pausing for a moment; • thinking about a private problem whilst fulfilling the primary task.
Interruption	The suspension of the stream of work before completion, with the intent of returning to and completing the original stream of work. Interruptions always create a distraction. Consequently, distractions include interruptions. Examples: • pausing to answer a phone; • waiting for an instrument to be replaced.
Disruptiveness	The degree to which interruptions have negative effects on the control of the process and are unsettling for a person and/or a team.
Impact	The extent to which a distractor leads to a pause and to which it involves more individuals. Example: • When the procedure comes to a halt it is significant, because this takes time and includes all team members.
Frequency	The number of distractors per hour.
Interference	A rated frequency enabling the comparison of frequent distractors with little impact and rare distractors with high impact. As such, it is a measure for the disturbance of the operative process.
Induction	The time frame that starts when the patient receives an oxygen mask or is positioned for a spinal or epidural to the time of the first incision. During this time frame, the surgical team enters the room (if not already inside) and gathers around the table.
Incision‐to‐closure	The time frame that starts at incision and ends when the sign‐out starts (when instruments and gauzes are finally checked and postoperative plan is set).
Sub‐team	A part of the complete operating team. The team in the operating room can be divided in to the following sub‐teams: anaesthetic team: anaesthetist, anaesthetic nurse, anaesthetic residents and trainees; surgical team: surgeons, surgical residents and trainees; nursing team: scrub nurse, circulating nurses and their students. Depending on the topic, division can also form along the lines of sterile team vs. non‐sterile teams. Sub‐teams are not fixed but consist of shifting configurations.