What does it feel like to be wrong? How can we recognize a mistake when we are making it? We are oblivious to our errors at the time that we make them, because being wrong feels exactly like being right. This is the idea of “error blindness.”1 The time that elapses between making a wrong decision and subsequently recognizing it ranges from very short (a few seconds) to very long (months to years, or never at all). As physicians, we have an obligation to prevent as many errors as possible, and to recover quickly and optimally when errors do occur. An important component of diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making mistakes is cognitive error – thought process errors made despite adequate knowledge and skill, and often in the setting of good intentions. Cognitive errors may be rooted in bias, heuristical decision-making, overconfidence, illogical thought preferences and other subconscious phenomena, leading...
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May 2013
Cognitive Errors and Cognitive Aids in Anesthesiology
Marjorie Podraza Stiegler, M.D.;
Marjorie Podraza Stiegler, M.D.
Committee on Patient Safety and Education
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Sara N. Goldhaber-Fiebert, M.D.
Sara N. Goldhaber-Fiebert, M.D.
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ASA Newsletter May 2013, Vol. 77, 10–12.
Citation
Marjorie Podraza Stiegler, Sara N. Goldhaber-Fiebert; Cognitive Errors and Cognitive Aids in Anesthesiology. ASA Newsletter 2013; 77:10–12
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