Most first responders know intuitively that strong situational awareness is an important aspect of safety. However, many do not understand what situational awareness is, how it is developed, and how it can erode while working in high-risk, high-consequence environments. Yet, situational awareness--and the barriers that flaw awareness--are consistently identified as contributing factors in near-miss and casualty reports.This program provides you with a working definition of situational awareness and explains how to develop it. Examples of barriers that can erode awareness are discussed, including sensory conflict, prearrival lens, confirmation bias, tunnel vision, task fixation, mission myopia, multitasking, short-term memory overload, confabulation, auditory exclusion, and time distortion.
