36 AE Summer 2010

If you received this cover let-ter—Thank U 4 agreeing to readmy resume. I have lots of experi-ence as an i tech. My resume isattached. Hope to C U Soon

—chances are good that youwould not respond to the interestedcandidate, even if she were highlyqualified. But, if the same messagecame via an online job posting, andthat was the message in the emailwith a well-crafted cover letter,would the candidate receive consid-eration?

Our society is becoming morecasual. What is acceptable behaviorin one setting has been known tocross the line into others. Look atfashion, for example. Stores are sell-ing scoop-necked, tight garments as“everyday” fashion that would havebeen considered appropriate forclubbing only 10 years ago. Texting,too, is becoming more mainstream;according to Geek.com, more thanone trillion messages were sent in2008, three times the number sent in2007.

Texting has its place. It is a greatway to send a quick question or mes-sage to someone. Still—and perhapsmy age is showing—texting cannotreplace conversation. In other indus-tries, large firms are holding commu-nication classes for their new hires(Van Riper, 2006). These may includethe value of conversations and ofusing full sentences when writing.

Texting to theTechs

Running the Practice Technicians

Jane T. Shuman, COT, COE, OCS

When analyzing your choices, especiallyabout the use of personal communicationdevices in the workplace, it is importantto consider costs, efficiency, and thepatient’s perspective.

AE Summer 2010 37

Although we use standardizedabbreviations in the medical record,think what the chief complaint andhistory of present illness may looklike written in text if specific guide-lines are not made apparent to theGeneration Y hire: 1 day f/u cat surgOD cs gr8, 0 pain.

And what about informationthat comes through the “silent lan-guage” of nonverbal communica-tion? As Mark Bauerlein writes in theWall Street Journal article “WhyGen-Y Johnny Can’t Read NonverbalCues,”

We live in a culture where youngpeople—outfitted with iPhone and lap-top and devoting hours every eveningfrom age 10 onward to messaging ofone kind and another—are ever lesslikely to develop the ‘silent fluency’ thatcomes from face-to-face interaction. It isa skill that we all must learn, in actualsocial settings, from people (often older)who are adept in the idiom. As text-cen-tered messaging increases, such occa-sions diminish. The digital nativesimprove their adroitness at the key-board, but when it comes to their capac-ity to ‘read’ the behavior of others, theyare all thumbs (Bauerlein, 2009).

Texting has become as common-place today as intercoms were 20years ago. Intercoms, however, areloud and often interrupt one’s trainof thought. Cell phones set to“silent” or “vibrate” are less intru-sive, though administrators stillstruggle with setting parameters forcell phones (i.e., whether calls can betaken during work hours). If employ-ees are not allowed to text in theworkplace proper, are employees vis-iting the restrooms more frequentlyto shoot a quick message? And ifthey are, is that taking any moretime away from work than chattingat the water cooler, which a recentarticle says takes more time than tex-ting?

No matter how we struggle withthe standards for using communica-tion devices in our individual offices,it is important that we look at thistechnology, as well as others,through the eyes of our patients. Ihave heard doctors suggest, forexample, that they send a text mes-sage to a particular staff memberwhen that person is needed else-where. The rationale is that everyonehas a cell phone and would be sureto feel it vibrate when he or she maynot be aware of the lighting page, orout of earshot and unaware of needsin different sections of the (large)clinic.

Perhaps the initiators of theabove suggestion had the good senseto consider the patient’s view beforesending the message. The recipientwho is attending to a differentpatient in another location in theclinic, however, feels she must checkher phone at once because the doc-tor may be looking for her. She stopsher work up, her conversation, andher documentation, to check herphone. The patient is observing thisand wondering what could be soimportant that she had to be inter-rupted. Not only is this going toslow down patient flow (especially ifthe tech heeded the call), but it willalso negatively impact your patientsatisfaction rate.

There are other ways to summona staff person. Commonly used light-ing panels indicate a need for a per-son in a specific exam room; thesecan include an audible signal as wellas a visual flashing. Many of theelectronic medical records todayinclude a master panel, indicatingwho is in what room; if an order iswritten for a test to be done immedi-ately, it will be noted on the masterpanel.

Many hospital systems havechosen to use silent pagers to sum-mon the nursing staff to a specificlocation. This is usually invisible tothe patient with whom the nurse isinteracting when paged. When usedin the clinic setting, there is virtuallyno time spent determining wherethe technician is needed next; shecan proceed directly to the locationto which she was paged.

The face of medicine is rapidlychanging. We are seeing the demandto provide more services to anincreasing patient load in order tomaintain the current revenue stream.As a means of cost containment, it isnecessary to review all of ourprocesses in order to save steps, time,and money. When analyzing yourchoices, especially about the use ofpersonal communication devices inthe workplace, it is important toconsider costs, efficiency, and thepatient’s perspective. AE

ReferencesBauerlein, M. (2009, September 4). Why gen-y Johnnycan’t read nonverbal communication. Wall StreetJournal. Accessed March 23, 2010, athttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574348493483201758.html.

VanRiper, T. (2006, August 30). Text-message genera-tion entering workplace. Forbes.com and MSNBC.com.Accessed March 23, 2010, at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14576541/ ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/.

Jane T. Shuman, COT, COE,OCS (857-233-5891;Jshuman@eyetechs.com), ispresident of Eyetechs Inc.,Boston, Mass. Eyetechs is anationally recognized authorityon clinical flow, scheduling,and technician education.