An exploratory investigation of the measurement of cognitive load on shift: Application of cognitive load theory in emergency medicine.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Emergency physicians often experience a high cognitive load (CL) due to the inherent nature of working in acute care settings. CL has traditionally been measured in educational studies but has not been well studied in the clinical environment.

Methods

Emergency medicine attending physicians and residents working in an academic urgent care center completed psychometric questionnaires while on shift to measure overall CL, intrinsic cognitive load (ICL), extraneous cognitive load (ECL), and acute stress. Data regarding the patient load, patient acuity, and the number of patients in the waiting room were also collected. Correlational analysis and simple linear regression were used to evaluate predictors of CL on shift.

Results

Forty-two questionnaires were comp

SUBMITTER: Vella KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8372981 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature