Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.cm
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Emergency Department Operations; Patient Flow; Turbulence; Complex Adaptive Systems; Reynolds Number; Systems Dynamics
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background: Emergency departments are frequently described using the language of patient flow, implying smooth and predictable movement of patients through a system versus known obstructions to flow. Clinicians, however, often observe abrupt shifts in operational stability.
Objective: To explore whether concepts from fluid dynamics and complexity science offer a useful framework for understanding these transitions.
Methods: Conceptual synthesis drawing on emergency medicine operations research, human factors, systems science, and fluid mechanics.
Results (Conceptual): Emergency departments exhibit behaviors analogous to systems approaching turbulence, including sensitivity to perturbation, amplification of delays, and nonlinear responses.
Conclusion: Viewing ED operations through the lens of turbulence may help explain sudden operational breakdowns and support future study of system resilience.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Health and Medical Administration | Medicine and Health Sciences
Conceptualizing the Transition from Stable Operations to Turbulent States : Reframing Emergency Department Operations. Learning from Fluid Dynamics and Complexity Science
Background: Emergency departments are frequently described using the language of patient flow, implying smooth and predictable movement of patients through a system versus known obstructions to flow. Clinicians, however, often observe abrupt shifts in operational stability.
Objective: To explore whether concepts from fluid dynamics and complexity science offer a useful framework for understanding these transitions.
Methods: Conceptual synthesis drawing on emergency medicine operations research, human factors, systems science, and fluid mechanics.
Results (Conceptual): Emergency departments exhibit behaviors analogous to systems approaching turbulence, including sensitivity to perturbation, amplification of delays, and nonlinear responses.
Conclusion: Viewing ED operations through the lens of turbulence may help explain sudden operational breakdowns and support future study of system resilience.