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Decision-Making, Dogma & Cognitive Bias in Regional Anaesthesia

Section 1 – Professional Background
1.Type of clinical practice
2.Professional grade
3.Years of clinical experience
4.Country of current clinical practice
Section 2 – Decision-Making, Dogma & Cognitive Bias in Regional Anaesthesia
5.Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements using the scale below:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
My choice of regional anaesthesia technique is influenced more by my training background than by current published evidence.
I tend to repeatedly perform the same regional anaesthesia techniques because they have worked well for me in the past.
I am more likely to adopt a new regional anaesthesia technique after observing respected colleagues use it, even before strong supporting evidence is available.
Once I decide on a regional anaesthesia plan, I rarely change it after ultrasound scanning.
When a block is partially effective, I prefer to rescue or repeat the block rather than switch to an alternative analgesic strategy.
My personal success rate with a regional anaesthesia technique influences my confidence in that technique more than published complication rates.
I believe that my personal complication rate with regional anaesthesia is lower than that of most of my colleagues.
Social media, conferences, and workshops influence regional anaesthesia practice faster than peer-reviewed literature.
I feel implicit pressure to offer regional anaesthesia even when its additional clinical benefit for a specific patient is uncertain.
I sometimes continue with a planned regional anaesthesia technique despite suboptimal anatomical or clinical conditions.
Failed or suboptimal regional anaesthesia blocks are under-reported and insufficiently discussed within my department.
Clinical experience in regional anaesthesia reduces—but does not eliminate—cognitive bias in clinical decision-making.
Section 3 – Open-Ended Question
6.In your opinion, what factors most strongly influence decision-making in regional anaesthesia practice, and how could cognitive bias be better recognized or mitigated?