Document Type : Review Article

Authors

• Saim Mahmood Khan ¹
• Aroobah Jawwad ²
• Aliza Ahmed ³
• Barina Khan ⁴
• Muhammad Taimoor Khan ⁵
• Iman Khan ⁴
• Surraiya Riaz Mahmood Khan ⁶

¹ W3V6+27P, Block M North Nazimabad Town, Karachi, Karachi City, Sindh 74700

² Karachi Medical and Dental College, M block of North Nazimabad Karachi, 74600, Pakistan

³ V22W+F2H، Rafiqui H.J, Iqbal Shaheed Rd, Karachi Cantonment Karachi, 75510

⁴ Karachi Medical and Dental College

⁵ Dow International Medical College

⁶ Sohail University

Abstract

Background:



Healthcare keeps progressing with time. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a shift towards virtual-care. Clinicians have started depending on videoconferencing in their work. This modern setup is convenient and accessible, but it has raised concerns about clinicians’ neurocognitive and emotional consequences.

Objective:

The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss how VCF affects clinicians’ neurocognitive and emotional functioning in their daily practice.

Methods:

A narrative style literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar from 2015 to 2025 using the keywords videoconference fatigue, clinicians, neurocognitive outcomes, and emotional outcomes. The studies exploring clinicians and Bailenson’s nonverbal overload model were prioritised, while relevant non-clinical studies were also considered. SANRA guidelines were followed to maintain the quality of narrative review.

Results:

Although these observations may not apply to all clinicians, some of the studies found that clinicians' cognitive load, attentional depletion, working memory strain, and emotional fatigue increased over longer virtual sessions. Specialty differences were also observed, with psychiatrists and neurologists experiencing greater cognitive load, whereas primary care clinicians experienced different fatigue patterns. The literature proposed mechanisms such as high gaze awareness, mirror anxiety, decision fatigue, multitasking demands, and constant self-monitoring. Although these results are preliminary, current evidence suggests that VCF effects are transient and task-dependent rather than causing permanent neurocognitive impairment.

Conclusion:

This review highlights important implications for clinicians’ well-being. To better characterize VCF, longitudinal and specialty-specific studies are needed. Additionally, good telemedicine, including appropriate work patterns, breaks, and tools, can be a way to prevent VCF.

Keywords

• Zoom Fatigue
• Virtual Consultation
• Telemedicine
• Clinician Wellbeing
• Cognitive Load
• Mental Fatigue
• Neurocognition
• Burnout
• Digital Strain
• Healthcare Professionals

Main Subjects

• Cognitive neurology / Neuropsychiatry