Left-right discrimination and laterality errors

Prof. Gerry Gormley
ByGerry Gormley
Published21 August 2024
Despite being something most clinicians might take for granted, laterality-based decisions can still cause confusion - as Prof. Gerry Gormley explains.

It is important to emphasise awareness that we are all at risk of making a laterality error. We all need to take time and mindfully ensure the correct side is selected, ideally with minimal distraction.

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Gerry Gormley

Gerry Gormley is a general practitioner and professor of simulation at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). In his academic role, he leads the Clinical Skills Education Centre (CSEC) for medical students at QUB. While his research focuses on how simulation can enable transformation in individuals, teams, and organisations, he has had a long-standing interest in left-right confusion in medical students. Following repeated observations of students encountering challenges with laterality decisions in teaching practice, this led him to research and publish widely on right-left discrimination, providing insights into how best to minimise errors from this common human phenomena.

Left-right discrimination and laterality errors