EQuIS Research



Not Your Pilot's Checklist



Human Factors Expertise from NASA Applied to Decision-support in Medicine



When: June 14



We were very pleased with the reception of our first EQuIS paired speaker event with guest speaker Dr. Barbara Burian, made possible through the generous support provided by the MacNeill family and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute.​



Barbara Burian, PhD



Senior Research Psychologist,
NASA Ames Research Center



Barbara K. Burian, Ph.D. is a senior research psychologist in the Human Systems Integration Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Her research focuses on the development, design, functionality, and use of paper, electronic, and integrated cognitive aids, checklists, procedures, and apps; flight deck technology and displays; and on the performance of experts and novices in high consequence, dynamic, socio-technical domains. She is a steering committee member of the (medical) Emergency Manual Implementation Collaborative (EMIC), and a member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesiology Quality and Safety Committee, the EPIC ICare Committee, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the American Psychological Association. Dr. Burian is a co-editor of the Anesthesia Illustrated book series, published by Oxford University Press, and consults on the application of human factors and cognitive science research to medicine and clinical practice. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the Southern Illinois University, is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a private pilot, and is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist.



Medical Checklist Essentials



On their face, checklists appear to be relatively simple tools – easy to construct, easy to use. What could be so hard about creating a list of things to check? Sit down to write one or try to use a poorly constructed one, though, and the challenges in developing an effective and useful tool quickly become apparent. The task can become even more daunting when the “checklist” is part of dynamic, integrated, and context-sensitive instrument, such as a clinical decision support system (CDSS)—relatively new tools being developed to support clinicians formulate accurate diagnoses and consider all relevant factors to provide timely and tailored patient care.

In this talk, I will “begin at the beginning” with a lively, interactive, and relatively in-depth exploration of some of the basics of medical checklists and cognitive aids. What qualifies as a checklist or cognitive aid and for what purposes are they best or ill-suited? What is the checklist/cognitive aid lifecycle? How is appropriate content determined and what design features affect their utility? How can they help or hinder workflow and team communication and coordination? These issues and related topics will be explored, with many illustrations and examples, to set the stage for the next talk which considers more sophisticated cognitive aids integrated into clinical decision support systems.





Event Gallery



Dr. Burian presenting her talk on Clinical Support Tools


more

Dr. Brindle presenting her talk on revisiting the Surgical Safety Checklist


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Dinner at Deane House with the EQuIS Research Team

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EQuIS Research



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