Study: ED triage nurses exhibit cognitive biases

Emergency department triage nurses correctly selected the cognitively unbiased triage response only 51% of the time in a scenario describing a patient at the highest severity index level, according to a study. Published in the November issue of the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, the cross-sectional study included 208 ED nurses from four tertiary care hospitals who filled out a scenario-based questionnaire featuring five clinical scenarios. The authors recommend implementing cognitive de-biasing strategies, including critical thinking and reasoning, for ED triage nurses. (AHRQ Journal of Patient Safety article, 10/4/23)