About this article
Medically reviewed- Written by
- Dr Paul Watson
- Medically reviewed by
- Dr Han Simpson
- Published
- July 28, 2026
- Medical review date
- September 8, 2026
- Evidence searched through
- September 8, 2026
- Next review due
- September 8, 2027
- Intended audience
- General Readers & Patients
- Geographic scope
- Worldwide
- Conflicts of interest
- None declared.
- Funding
- Website Owner
- Report a correction
- Report an error or editorial concern
- Medical disclaimer
- Read the medical disclaimer
In high-pressure clinical situations, the risk of medication errors cannot be overlooked. The medical team may be on high alert in particularly sensitive cases. Still, the stress involved in the situation can increase the risk of judgment and administration errors related to drugs.
Shockingly, WHO data indicate that almost 50% of patient harm is due to unsafe care. This includes harm caused by medicines and other therapeutic options.
We can attribute the risk of suboptimal clinical decision-making to multiple factors, some of which are more controllable than others. Learning to identify them is the first step to managing them and preventing patient harm arising from clinical mistakes.
Managing High Levels of Stress and Cognitive Load
For professionals working in emergency departments, operating rooms, and intensive care units, daily shifts can involve high degrees of stress. Another environment that involves severe stress is a disaster site, where immediate medical treatment must be administered.
In such situations, many professionals can feel burdened by cognitive load. This lowers their ability to make safe decisions.
Unfortunately, this problem seems to have become rampant. In 2024, the CDC reported that many healthcare workers face high stress from exposure to suffering and death. These are emotionally difficult situations, made no easier by long working hours and changing schedules.
Drawing Decision-Making Insights from Interdisciplinary Teams
Many acute clinical settings involve working with professionals from different departments. For instance, a stroke patient may need care not only from a neurologist but also from a physiotherapist and speech therapist. In moments of crisis, healthcare professionals who aren’t comfortable with collaborative environments may struggle to make optimal decisions.
Integrating training on collaborative decision-making can help healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, address this challenge. It can be helpful to develop the ability to consult and collaborate from the start.
Healthcare education programs now emphasize these skills to prepare nursing professionals to communicate effectively in clinical situations. In some accelerated online BSN programs, which work as a fast-track entry to the nursing profession, aspirants focus intensively on interdisciplinary collaboration.
This competency can prove helpful when they transition from school to the healthcare system. It allows them to adapt to the rapid pace through mentorship and guidance.
Minimizing medication errors in complex care scenarios also depends on interprofessional communication. For instance, nurses’ interactions with pharmacists can help reduce the possibility of allergic reactions in vulnerable patients.
Cleveland State University recommends that nurses learn to optimize teamwork to improve patient healthcare outcomes when they enter the workforce. This approach can be especially useful for the care of clients experiencing stressors, who can benefit from diverse insights.
Minimizing Interruptions During Medication Administration
In emergency decision-making contexts, it is even more crucial to ensure that the correct medication is administered in the recommended dosage. This is because the patients in question may be at an increased risk of reacting adversely.
When a nurse gets interrupted during their medication rounds, the chances of an error naturally increase. This can happen due to an unexpected, loud electronic alert. It can also be because they were disrupted in the process by their colleague. Sometimes, organizational workflow changes unwittingly make medication administration error-prone. This is because the professionals haven’t been trained adequately.
Interruptions may also be responsible to some extent for mistakes in patients’ medical records. In May 2025, the Guardian reported that one in four patients in England found errors related to their illness and treatment. In some cases, these mistakes led to patients missing diagnostic tests or being refused their medication.
“Missed information and mistakes in medical records are frustrating and can put people’s health at risk. Sorting admin problems is not always easy and can be time-consuming, putting pressure on patients or their families.” – Louise Ansari, Chief Executive, Healthwatch England.
Using Human Factors Design for Clinical Safety
To mitigate these risks, adopting human-factors-based design can prove beneficial. This approach considers that quintessentially human factors will influence safety performance. These could be cognitive load, fatigue, and the shift structure. The design of the healthcare setting, from an operating theater to a laboratory, must recognize and account for this.
As a Lab Manager feature highlights, this design construct can account for fatigue and shift structure by improving staffing models and task allocation. This is an effective way to prevent risk accumulation and an unfortunate incident.
Similarly, improving the usability and simplicity of interfaces can address the problem of cognitive load and overwhelm. When medical record documentation is less complex and more intuitive, the odds of error due to human factors are considerably reduced.
| Human Factors Design Principle | Recommended Actions |
| Design intuitive technology | Optimize electronic health records and clinical decision support systems |
| Minimize interruptions | Create protected medication administration zones and limit non-urgent alerts |
| Optimize workspace layout | Organize medications, equipment, and supplies for easy access |
| Support teamwork and communication | Implement structured handoffs and closed-loop communication |
| Address fatigue and workload | Develop staffing models that account for workload and rest |
Living With The Pressure of Ensuring Patient Safety
For healthcare professionals in various capacities, everyday life involves high stakes. Specialists and nursing staff in critical care settings can easily get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the onus on their shoulders.
As professionals manage this pressure, they must also commit to building strength and resilience. Learning to improve emotional regulation and seeking support for mental calm can help medical teams keep a clearer head even in high-pressure situations.
Minimizing medication errors due to poor judgment will also require a holistic revamp of healthcare design and organizational processes. Patient safety is crucial, and individual vigilance cannot suffice alone. Our modern care systems must prepare professionals to support safe decisions when pressure is unavoidable.