Visual Cue Processing and Scanning Efficiency in Decision-Making of Expert and Novice Nurses During Rapid Patient Deterioration

This study investigates how clinical experience shapes nurses’ visual cue-gathering during acute patient deterioration. Using wearable eye-trackers, expert and student nurses’ visual behaviors were analyzed across pre- and post-deterioration phases in a simulated patient care scenario. Expert nurses fixated more on clinically relevant areas and exhibited more focused, sequential gaze patterns. In contrast, student nurses displayed greater fixation variability and higher gaze transition entropy, indicating less efficient scanning and increased cognitive load. These findings offer an objective, sensor-based understanding of how experience influences clinical decision-making and highlight eye-tracking’s potential for nursing education.