Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.cm
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Emergency Department Crowding; Time Perception; Cognitive Load; Operational Turbulence; Complex Adaptive Systems; Human Factors.
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background: Emergency clinicians frequently report that time during ED shifts can feel unusually slow or unusually fast. This shared observation has rarely been examined formally in emergency medicine. Altered time perception has also been described in high demand professions such as aviation, sports, military operations, and emergency response. Individuals often report time dilation during critical events and time compression during highly coordinated performance. These findings suggest that temporal perception reflects underlying neurocognitive responses to environmental demands. Emergency departments share many characteristics with these environments, including rapid decision making, task switching, and intermittent high stakes events.
Objective: Brief narrative review concerning temporal distortion and whether clinician-perceived time distortion may correlate with cognitive load operational turbulence within emergency departments.
Methods: Conceptual synthesis of literature from cognitive neuroscience, time perception research, human factors, and emergency medicine operations. A brief survey framework is proposed for future study.
Results (Conceptual): Prior work demonstrates that attention, cognitive load, uncertainty, and interruptions alter perceived duration.
Conclusion: Altered time perception has also been described in high demand professions such as aviation, sports, military operations, and emergency response. Individuals often report time dilation during critical events and time compression during highly coordinated performance. These findings suggest that temporal perception reflects underlying neurocognitive responses to environmental demands. Emergency departments share many characteristics with these environments, including rapid decision making, task switching, and intermittent high stakes events.
Clinician time perception may function as a human indicator of operational stability versus turbulence.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Medical Neurobiology | Medicine and Health Sciences
Included in
When the Clock Stands Still: Clock Time vs. Experienced Time in the Emergency Department Brief Review: Neurobiology of Time Perception Temporal Distortion as a Marker of Cognitive Load and Operational Turbulence
Background: Emergency clinicians frequently report that time during ED shifts can feel unusually slow or unusually fast. This shared observation has rarely been examined formally in emergency medicine. Altered time perception has also been described in high demand professions such as aviation, sports, military operations, and emergency response. Individuals often report time dilation during critical events and time compression during highly coordinated performance. These findings suggest that temporal perception reflects underlying neurocognitive responses to environmental demands. Emergency departments share many characteristics with these environments, including rapid decision making, task switching, and intermittent high stakes events.
Objective: Brief narrative review concerning temporal distortion and whether clinician-perceived time distortion may correlate with cognitive load operational turbulence within emergency departments.
Methods: Conceptual synthesis of literature from cognitive neuroscience, time perception research, human factors, and emergency medicine operations. A brief survey framework is proposed for future study.
Results (Conceptual): Prior work demonstrates that attention, cognitive load, uncertainty, and interruptions alter perceived duration.
Conclusion: Altered time perception has also been described in high demand professions such as aviation, sports, military operations, and emergency response. Individuals often report time dilation during critical events and time compression during highly coordinated performance. These findings suggest that temporal perception reflects underlying neurocognitive responses to environmental demands. Emergency departments share many characteristics with these environments, including rapid decision making, task switching, and intermittent high stakes events.
Clinician time perception may function as a human indicator of operational stability versus turbulence.