Psychological Safety in Emergency Medicine: Strategies and Scripts for Safer Learning Environments

Psychological safety describes an individual’s perception that a work or learning environment supports interpersonal risk-taking, such as asking questions, reporting errors, raising concerns, or offering suggestions, without fear of embarrassment or punishment. Evidence from high-stakes industries, including aviation and business, demonstrates that psychological safety is essential for team performance, learning, and error mitigation. It is increasingly recognized as a foundational element of effective clinical and educational environments.

The emergency department presents unique challenges to fostering psychological safety due to time pressure, cognitive load, and high-acuity decision-making. Research shows that patients cared for in environments where staff feel psychologically unsafe experience higher rates of adverse events. For educators, promoting psychological safety is therefore essential for both learner development and patient outcomes.

This concise, high-impact session will review key concepts of psychological safety and address challenges specific to emergency medicine settings. Participants will receive practical, take-home strategies and a four-step framework for promoting psychological safety. Attendees will also develop a brief prebrief script to implement immediately before clinical shifts or classroom sessions to support safer, more effective learning environments.