Unless you work alone in a remote cave in Siberia, you are likely be interrupted by many distractions. In Siberia, it might be a wolf or polar bear, but in most work situations, it is often your co-workers.
We have a large medical office with about a dozen clinicians working every day, and another three dozen or so medical assistants, patient service representatives, billers, nurses, and front desk receptionists. My office is unfortunately located right smack in the middle of most of them; adjacent to a very busy nurse's station - Gabbing Central. Not only is there a constant banter of non-work-related conversations going on all day, but they constantly try to drag me into their bull sessions. Constant laughing may be a sign of a happy workplace, or a warning sign of mental instability. I can't really drown them out, even if I close my door. If my door is closed, they knock to ask my opinion about something or other. Or, they will rag on me if I complain.
Our office has music on hold, apparently so that our patients will become more annoyed and enraged as they wait. Someone usually chooses some inappropriate rock or rap station that causes adrenalin to surge. Of course, even hearing "Spanish Eyes" a few dozen times a day would drive anyone to lunacy. One of medical assistants, who's desk is about twenty feet from my own, loves to put on the music at her desk; just loud enough to drive me crazy. When I turn it down; she turns it up. I finally had to have it out with her about this music, so what that means a passive-aggressiveness attitude from now on. Some additional quiet without Elvis droning on the background is worth a little overt hostility in my opinion. She has now taken to singing; the same damn song all day long until I get an ear worm (a song in my own head that refuses to leave). I know she is doing this on purpose.
The only advantage of having my office next to the nurse's station is that I can SEE what they are doing; and usually snare one of them to fax something. Of course, accessibility is a two-way street. If there are ANY questions requiring a medical decision, I appear to be the closest. My desk is even a straight-shot down the hall to the front desk and to patients standing behind the counter.
"I'm sorry. He's not in at the moment."
"What are you talking about? I can SEE him!"
I guess I don't mind if people ask me for medical advice (about a patient...NOT them). They will come walking by, looking for another medical provider, and see me in my office. Oh, I guess I can ask Rod. Of course, they do ask me, which now gets me involved in a non-critical patient problem
People are always just "popping in" to my office for water. Ever since I got my kidney stones a few years ago, I put in my own cold water dispenser. Now, people pop in to get cold (or hot water). I would really like to have a small microwave oven and coffee maker, since I sort of live in my office most of the week, but I think it would quickly turn into a break room.
We have started to limit pharmaceutical representatives from wandering around all day; dropping off samples, putting pamphlets on our desk that we just throw away when they leave, and getting signatures. Because of my office location and the fact that I am nice to them, they tend to take that as an invitation to hang out. Even though I keep typing on the keyboard, make little eye contact, they ramble on about some new medication for Restless Leg Syndrome. My leg is a little restless...I would like to reach out and kick them with it.
We have one back phone line for other physician calls, critical lab reports, etc. The fastest way to get medical assistants to scatter is to have that back line ring. No one - and I mean no one - will answer that phone until the 20 or 30th ring. Sometimes, I will answer it, only to have some child want to talk to their mother. Aaaargh! As soon as the phone stops ringing, the medical assistants will return, like birds that have been momentarily frightened away by a cat.
I finally answer the phone. One of the returning medical assistants, will ask, "Who was on the phone?"
"Oh, it was some teenager. I didn't get the name. He said something about being in jail. He said he would call back when they give him another call."
I get many patient calls during the day for advice, but I tend to call them back at the end of a session, like lunch time or at the end of my clinical day. I feel that the patients who have appointment have priority. You would think that in the age of cell phones, that it would be easy to call someone back. It is not. More often than not, I have to leave a voice mail and the phone tag begins. People do not seem to understand that it would be rude for me to make a scheduled patient wait and come directly to the phone. I am not a big fan of telephone medicine. In other words, I cannot examine someone's ear over the phone, determine if they have an ear infection, and prescribe the appropriate treatment. People just want to save the cost of an office visit.
I like to keep my door open, but I do not really have an open door policy. When I was a university professor, my students had to make an appointment to see me. In our medical practice, it is not uncommon for someone to stop by in the middle of a busy day just to chat.
As I am actively typing my chart notes, someone will pop in and say, "Oh, I see you are not busy, I can ask you! Gotta minute?"
A minute, of course, is not the sixty seconds that we have come to know. A clinic minute could be closer to five or ten minutes by the time the story ends.
"I would love to hear about your mother's angina, but would you mind coming back when I am not seeing patients?"
Basically, I think I handle distractions in the office quite well. My PA wife, however, does not. Women tend to become "one of the girls" quite early in the professional environment. They end up right in the middle of the
gossip mill. I could care less about who is sleeping with whom. Apparently, my wife likes that stuff. As a result, she tends to stay an hour or so late most every night finishing her charts.
There is a big price to pay for distractions.
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