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My research on cognitive work in healthcare and other complex settings focuses on understanding how clinicians make critical decisions under uncertainty, time pressure, and resource constraints, and how work systems can be designed to better support safe and effective performance. Through studies of pandemic triage, evidence-based pain management, diagnostic teamwork, and decision making under uncertainty, I examine the constraints clinicians face, the adaptive strategies and expertise they rely on, and the cognitive and organizational factors that shape their work. Using cognitive work analysis, qualitative and mixed methods, and emerging data-driven approaches, this body of work generates design and policy insights to improve decision support, reduce cognitive burden, and strengthen system resilience in high-stakes environments.
Relevant Projects
Triaging Decisions during Catastrophic Events: A Study of Frontline Triage Nurses, National Science Foundation, Role: PI. Students: Brandon Murphy
Goals: The major goals of this project are to understand decision-making constraints and strategies when nurses triage patients who call with questions about COVID-19 symptoms.
Cognitive Work Associated with Evidence-Based Pain Management, Multi-PI: Cullen, Pennathur, Funding Source: Adult Clinical Practice Collaborative Research Award.
Goals: Nursing pain management observations targeted post-operative total knee replacement (TKR) patients, because they often experience severe pain. Inadequate pain control is associated with poor functional recovery. Our exploratory study uses human factors engineering methods to identify cognitive and system factors affecting use of EBP.
Goals: The major goals of this project are to understand decision-making constraints and strategies when nurses triage patients who call with questions about COVID-19 symptoms.
Cognitive Work Associated with Evidence-Based Pain Management, Multi-PI: Cullen, Pennathur, Funding Source: Adult Clinical Practice Collaborative Research Award.
Goals: Nursing pain management observations targeted post-operative total knee replacement (TKR) patients, because they often experience severe pain. Inadequate pain control is associated with poor functional recovery. Our exploratory study uses human factors engineering methods to identify cognitive and system factors affecting use of EBP.