In this episode I talked with Dr. Quinn Cummings (@resus_bae) about the topic of
cognitive bias and some ways we can reduce the influence of biases in our
practice. Quinn is an emergency physician with a special interest in this
During an average shift an emergency medical provider makes
hundreds to thousands of decisions. To make these decisions, our brains use a
combination of conscious and subconscious information. We tend to think that all
our decisions are made objectively but, in fact, much of our decision making
comes from knowledge or ideas that we are not even aware of. This is the
concept of cognitive bias. A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking
which can skew our ability to process information properly and accurately. This
can lead to an improper diagnosis or treatment path for our patient. There are
numerous examples of specific biases such as anchoring bias, confirmation bias,
premature closure, etc. We discuss a few examples in the podcast but we
encourage you to research more to see which ones you may be more susceptible to
As always please feel free to share feedback, comments, or
Instagram: @paramedicpractitioner
References and other resources:
https://www.nuemblog.com/blog/cognitive-bias
https://first10em.com/cognitive-errors/
https://criticalcarenow.com/criticalcarecares-25-cognitive-biases-every-doctor-needs-to-know/
Croskerry, P. The Importance of Cognitive Errors in Diagnosis and Strategies to
Minimize Them. Academic Med. August 2003, 1-6.
Croskerry, P et al. Patient Safety in Emergency Medicine.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009.
Thomas, D. D., & Mustafa, Y. Design for cognitive bias.
Jeffrey Zeldman / A Book Apart. 2020.
Croskerry P. Cognitive forcing strategies in clinical
decision making. Ann Emerg Med 2003;41(1):110–120.
Croskerry P. The feedback sanction. Acad Emerg Med. 2000
Nov;7(11):1232-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2000.tb00468.x. PMID: 11073471.
Caplan R.A., Posner K.L., Cheney F.W.: Effect of outcome on
physician judgments of appropriateness of care. JAMA 1991; 265: pp. 1957-1960.
Abraham Kaplan (1964). The Conduct of Inquiry: Methodology