Healthcare decisions rarely happen in ideal conditions. They happen while managing interruptions, competing priorities, time pressure, and incomplete information. This course explores how stress, assumptions, and cognitive patterns influence decision-making in those moments. Participants will learn practical strategies to pause, examine their reasoning, and strengthen decision-making to support safety and quality care. Presenter Ashleigh Ford, MSN, is a people‑first leadership trainer and former Director of Nursing with over a decade of experience helping healthcare leaders strengthen communication, relationships, and team cohesion.

Suggested Audience: This course is intended for healthcare leaders and clinical professionals involved in patient care and operational decision-making.

Upon completion of this training, you should be able to:

• Describe how pressure, cognitive load, and decision fatigue influence decision-making in healthcare settings.
• Distinguish between automatic and deliberate thinking processes during complex clinical or leadership situations.
• Identify factors such as pressure, cognitive load, and assumptions that influence decision-making in healthcare settings.
• Apply at least one structured awareness question to interrupt assumptions during real-time decision-making.
• List the three components of a structured reflective debrief used to evaluate decision-making after an event.
• Summarize two leadership behaviors that strengthen decision-making and support quality and safety.

Find this in the School of Hospital Leadership & Operations.