Promoting Clinician Well-Being and Patient Safety Using Human Factors Science: Reducing Unnecessary Occupational Stress

Our healthcare delivery system has accumulated complexity of payment, regulation systems, expectations and requirements. Often these are not designed to align with clinical thinking process flow patient care. As a result, clinicians utilizing enormous mental (cognitive) resource comply complexities, over above the baseline effort required give good care patient. Recent studies suggest significant number physicians, advanced practice providers nurses no longer want stay in due difficult work conditions that have become unreasonable. Technology benefitted delivery, but also is conduit many been grafted upon clinician workloads, exceeding resources provided accomplish them. Cognitive load measure divided into Intrinsic, Germane Extraneous Load. Load (ECL) what necessary can be removed by better design. High cognitive associated increased risk both medical error burnout. Chronic high level occupational stress occurs from dealing this job/resource imbalance showing serious personal health impact quality they provide for patients. Since organizational systems more complex, leadership methods, wellbeing safety efforts need adjust adapt succeed. Safety tended predominantly follow methods few decades ago predominant focus how things go wrong (Safety I) now being encouraged include study right II). Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) science used industries preserve worker improve performance. Patient product HFE helps inform mechanisms behind I II approach. concepts augment existing burnout interventions providing conceptual roadmap multiple human/technology, human/system, human/work environment interfaces comprise delivery. Healthcare leaders, their influence culture, allocation, implementation requirements workflows uniquely poised effective mitigators leading latent error. Basic knowledge strategic advantage leaders individuals tasked achieving care, controlling costs, improving experiences receiving