I think we're all aware of the Vecuronium error by now. It was a horrific mistake by a careless nurse.
I've seen nursing evolve in my career. There used to simpler, easier to navigate systems. But it seems like, every year, the work flow becomes a more complicated obstacle course to navigate. Alarms, safety alerts, multi step processes, warnings flashing left and right. Name alert! Look alike, sound alike! Mandatory prompts piled on, not to mention the bookkeeping and charge capturing features built into EMRs, requiring the mental energy of nurses.
Of course, we all have different psychological make ups. People's brains work, and process information differently. Some are highly sensitive to sensory overload. Others have more trouble staying focused due to their lower thresholds, sometimes called ADD. I personally dislike calling normal variations in people disorders though.
I don't think the creators of many of these systems have really accounted for the above factors. Often, these are reactionary systems to previous errors. There are new ones every year, they keep getting piled on.
After awhile, people start to tune it all out. They just click, click past it all, trying to keep up. I think this a problem worth exploring.
