Quiet!

[sunny54]

As a new Blood Bank supervisor I'd like to get input from you on a sticky subject.

How do you let your co-workers know that when you are performing blood bank work at the bench the interruptions need to be kept at a minimum? I'm often interrupted by casual greetings or chit-chat and find this very frustrating.

I realize I could post a big sign that says "QUIET IN THE BLOOD BANK," but I'm hoping for a less offensive way of getting the message accross.

Ideas?

[labgirl153]

Ahem. I'm a blood banker too ... not a super...but am new to the Northwest and west coast in general (here 1 year). Have discovered that west coasters are a tad more chatty - fast talkers - less likely to hear others. (Go ahead and beat me up people. I can take it - those of you who are west coasters, 'cause I ain't taking it back). Have experienced the same as you have sunny54 - one reason BB is usually sequestered from the other sections (like microbio. usually is). If your section is "open" then good luck on the noise/chat factor. My suggestion? Get room dividers or some cheap but decorative privacy screens and put them up. The crew will get the idea. If not, you might have to use your big voice.

[L106]

I would say that most of my staff are pretty loud and we tease and joke around alot. For us, it seems to cut the tension and lowers the stress level within the department. Most of them often like to have a radio playing. (Two of us do not like it, but defer to the majority until the next paragraph kicks in.)

However, sometimes when I'm doing benchwork and I'm being distracted by someone (or the radio) being unusually loud or someone trying to make chit-chat with me, I simply look at them with a "please-help-me" look on my face and say "Please, I'm having a really hard time concentrating." My coworkers always get the message and don't seem to be offended.

However, I think you are talking more about it's the general overall noise/chatter that bothers you, right sunny54? Labgirl153 gives a couple good suggestions. How about a department meeting to talk about how others of the staff feel about the noise level / department environment? If several others share your frustrations, then you can talk about what changes could be tried to improve things. (If the distractions bother you more than anyone else, how about seeking out the most isolated workstation in a corner?)

[sunny54]

Yes L106-

It's mostly the folks walking by my smallish department to other areas of the lab and making some kind of friendly comment-but unknowingly interrupting me while I'm in the middle of grading tubes or writing results.

Perhaps some of you extrovert laboratorians can handle this but for me, a rather quiet sort, it just breaks my concentration.

I trained at a hospital where we tiptoed around the blood bankers. Perhaps that was a bit much but it seemed that we understood their need to focus.

I agree that bringing it up at the next department meeting might be a good idea. I'll give it a try!

[rravkin@aol.com]

Hey Sunny54,

Congradulations on your new position. You ask the sixty-four million dollar question. I would say that if you engage conversations that are outside the relm of work at the bench then you need to keep the idea that at some point the direction of the conversation needs to resume with work. The fact that we work in an enclosed environment aids in perpetuating all sorts of conversation but if you want your staff to focus on the work at hand and keep outside conversation to a minimum then you have to set the example by bringing that conversation back to the work. This is not easy and it takes time for a repore to build that gives you this level of control without being offensive. I wish you the very best of luck and keep us posted on how things are going.

[Malcolm Needs ☆]

My staff like to chat, but if it gets too loud, I just bark at them and they stop, on the grounds that they know my bite (which I very rarely have to use) is worse than my bark!

[mjshepherd]

I work in a very casual atmosphere so there is a lot of chit chat, the radio is on, as well as the phone ringing. What I have found that works the best is to be polite and honest. When I am doing something that needs my concentration I simply tell them I am really trying to concentrate and could you help me out by turning down the radio, fielding the phone, ect. No one seems to mind when I ask this of them.

[Liz]

Once you develop a good relationship with the Staff they will accept the comments, actually you won’t have to make comments because they will know what disturbs you. I believe that the Staff must be comfortable and get along with each other (if possible). If they are happy and no one is bothered then it’s fine. They do chat at our Blood Bank and we have a radio that is heard but when one is at the bench they do not interrupt him/her, I guess it is because they themselves don’t want to be interrupted when at the bench. If this is not the case, then simply speak to them at a meeting.

When you come to a new job you will meet three types of people.

Category 1: Those who would walk through fire for you!!

Category 2: Those who come from 8am to 5pm do their work and go home.

Category 3: Those who would like to put you in front of a firing squad.

It is up to you to move the Staff from Category 3 to Category 2 and hopefully have them all in Category 1, way before you retire.

It is a challenge yes indeed, but it is also great fun.. enjoy it and especially enjoy the friendship and loyalty! You will love waking up and coming to work every morning !!

Liz :clap:

[cmelloh]

Our Blood Bank is segregated from the rest of the lab (behind a wall) so the noise is what we generate in the room. The only rule we have about interruptions is when we dispense a product. If we are interrupted in the middle of a dispense, we have to start over. So if anyone of us is dispensing, and someone goes to talk with us, we usually hold up a finger (index) and give the "1 minute please." The joke then becomes, "I have to wait, I just got the finger." If a radio is too loud, then we politely ask them to turn it down.

[Losmeister]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]388[/ATTACH]Get Smart!

[Deny Morlino]

We have had more than one inspector recommend that blood bank exist in its own space behind a closed door. Our current arrangement does not provide for this scenario. We are in the midst of planning a move to new space for the entire laboratory and a closed room is on the blue prints for blood bank.

Most often if I am working on something requiring my undivided attention I ignore (temporarily) any interruptions until I am at a point I can stop and then apologize and explain that I needed to focus on what I was doing. I have not ever had an issue with the person causing the interruption being offended or upset. If you explain the "why" behind the "what" most people are accepting of the need for no interruptions.

[tbostock]

After a bunch of years in busy Labs with lots of conversation, phones, overhead pages, etc, I've learned to tune most of it out. I do "refuse" though, to be interrupted while I am reading a blood type and/or inputting the results in the computer. I usually just ignore the interruption (ignore the person interrupting me, the phone ringing, etc), or if someone doesn't get the hint, I will simply hold up my hand...kind of like the finger thing in the above post. Then I say after I'm done, "sorry about that, just wanted to get the blood type right" and most people will understand.

[Likewine99]

We instituted certain spots in the BB where we call it "no chat, unless stat". We used red tape on the floor and made boxes to stand in so that when in the red box you absolutely shouldn't be interrupted.

They were at the sign out bench, in front of the analyzer, at each bench were you were doing manual testing. Those places where you needed to be able to concentrate and not be interrupted. It is the understanding of all lab employees, whether BBers or not, that if someone is in a red box you shouldn't interrupt them.

It's unreasonable to expect the BB to work in a vacuum and the nature of our work lends itself to communicating between co-workers. L106 has the right idea, just ask your co-workers to be respectful of you trying to concentrate. If they get offended then they probably don't have enough to do and should take their conversations elsewhere.

[KKidd]

:lonely::lonely::lonely::lonely:

If I am in the midst of something, I simply say - let me finish what I'm doing. Then I will ask them what they need. If it's just chit chat they tend to move on. When we started with the gel technology I was concerned about not adding the plasma. I have a tech who will say - I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. I've always believed that it's not always what you say, but how you say it.

[sunny54]

Me again-Thanks so much to all for the suggestions. I think I have some new tools to work with here! I especially like the finger and just saying straight out that I need to concentrate on what I'm doing or need to get the blood type right. That's sure saying it like it is! It's is so true that respect goes both ways and how you say it makes a huge difference. I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow and trying your ideas!

[jcdayaz]

As a new Blood Bank supervisor I'd like to get input from you on a sticky subject.

How do you let your co-workers know that when you are performing blood bank work at the bench the interruptions need to be kept at a minimum? I'm often interrupted by casual greetings or chit-chat and find this very frustrating.

I realize I could post a big sign that says "QUIET IN THE BLOOD BANK," but I'm hoping for a less offensive way of getting the message accross.

Ideas?

We will not infrequently say, "I am working on a problem patient. I need to concentrate." None of us are ever offended--as we have all been there. We also know those of us who talk problems out to ourselves outloud as we are working through them. It is not an uncommon occurrance to hear a coworker say "Let me know when/if you are talking to me and when/if I should respond." We all just know that sometimes it helps to hear our thoughts/logic/plan/whatever out loud.

I would suggest NOT using the "QUIET IN THE BLOOD BANK" sign idea. It seems really offensive. I have always been an advocate of open and honest communication--it works the best. I would suggest putting the "blame" on yourself the first time or two and admitting that you are not able to concentrate with all the chatter when you have a problem patient to work on. I think people will get the message.

We just hold a hand up and say "Not right now" if someone tries to chit-chat while we are deep in thought. No one is ever offended. We know the deal. Obviously, you couldn't just start doing these things out of the blue without offending most people. I think, however, after a meeting or something of the sort explaining it all to everyone you should be just fine.

[jcdayaz]

We will not infrequently say, "I am working on a problem patient. I need to concentrate." None of us are ever offended--as we have all been there. We also know those of us who talk problems out to ourselves outloud as we are working through them. It is not an uncommon occurrance to hear a coworker say "Let me know when/if you are talking to me and when/if I should respond." We all just know that sometimes it helps to hear our thoughts/logic/plan/whatever out loud.

I would suggest NOT using the "QUIET IN THE BLOOD BANK" sign idea. It seems really offensive. I have always been an advocate of open and honest communication--it works the best. I would suggest putting the "blame" on yourself the first time or two and admitting that you are not able to concentrate with all the chatter when you have a problem patient to work on. I think people will get the message.

We just hold a hand up and say "Not right now" if someone tries to chit-chat while we are deep in thought. No one is ever offended. We know the deal. Obviously, you couldn't just start doing these things out of the blue without offending most people. I think, however, after a meeting or something of the sort explaining it all to everyone you should be just fine.

I REALLY need to learn to read all the responses before making a post myself!

[NedB]

Want to hear from a retiree? What you bring up seems to me a Lab problem -not just a Blood Bank one. You can not forbid chit chat - after the Super Bowl, everyone will be talking about it. The same goes for breaking news. If your Techs keep their end of the chit chat to a minimum, the Techs from other sections will get the message - this is a mark of professionalism.

At most of the places I have worked, the Blood Bank was almost always physically located centrally in the Lab, but was seemingly always segregated in terms of workplace interactions. Most Techs who have worked in the Blood Bank know the stress level and don't needlessly interrupt.

At the last place I worked, we were once off the Main Lab - in what I refer to as a closet. Moving into the Main Lab at first seemed a bad idea, but turned out to be the best thing. The camaraderie between the Blood Bank and the Main Lab increased apparently to everyone's benefit. And it even helped donor recruitment.

Just be careful of the rules you write. You have to live with those rules too.

[LisaM]

I think that "concentration" is the key in Blood Bank, regardless of whether it's "quiet" or not. Some people, like myself, are good multitaskers and are able to concentrate while doing more than one thing at a time.

When I'm in blood bank, I "concentrate", but I hook my Ipod into the computer and have myself a 70's and 80's alternative and punk music flashback while I'm concentrating, but it's the "interruptions" that I can't stand. If there's a steady flow of whatever, that's fine, but if you break that flow, that's when the potential for mistakes comes in.

And if worse comes to worse, we could make it a worldwide mandate for "Focus in the Blood Bank!" and if you fail, you will be subjected to a playlist of only the songs from this list: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u0F3DkFbF0

while you are locked, alone, in a soundproof room, as punishment for your offense, so no one can hear your cries for help and pleadings for mercy, until you learn your lesson and keep your focus in blood bank!! Mwoooohhhaaahaaaa!

(Heh! Heh!)

Edited August 12, 2010 by LisaM

[Liz]

What happened at work Sunny54, how did it go and what tip did you try?

Liz

[sunny54]

I'm back with my field report:

Funny How just lifting a finger, (or a pen or whatever is clenched in my hand at the time), can make such a difference in my day!

I've used "the finger" least five or six times now over the past few days when someone needed to talk to me while I was reading tubes or writing my reactions. Thus far it's worked great without anyone taking offense. I just mention afterward that I needed to finish what I was doing before I could speak to them.

It's a bit humbling that I couldn't come up with such a basic, simple idea on my own. I guess that is where this forum and all of you veteran blood bankers come in! It's reassuring to see that many of you have had similar issues and have come up with so many different ways of dealing with interruptions.

[Deny Morlino]

There is an old saying about not re-inventing the wheel. The depth and breadth of knowledge on this site is very humbling regardless of the complexity of the question. Glad to hear you found a solution!

[Badgermom8]

We had a similar situation with training new staff and one particular trainer. The trainer would become distracted and not focus on watching the trainee. After an error was made by the trainee during a hands on training session with the guilty trainer, I informed all staff and trainers that conversations during training were not allowed unless work related and then the trainee could not proceed until the trainer was finished attending to the department issue. I was very honest with this policy and why it was necessary. Our focus is on quality to our customers and we don't want to risk errors. Everyone understood and agreed. Just be honest...you don't want mistakes!

[Mary**]

:blahblah: I like your finger idea, but I know some people who can talk right through anything!! It drives me nuts!

[carolyn swickard]

Want to hear from a retiree? What you bring up seems to me a Lab problem -not just a Blood Bank one. You can not forbid chit chat - after the Super Bowl, everyone will be talking about it. The same goes for breaking news. If your Techs keep their end of the chit chat to a minimum, the Techs from other sections will get the message - this is a mark of professionalism.

At most of the places I have worked, the Blood Bank was almost always physically located centrally in the Lab, but was seemingly always segregated in terms of workplace interactions. Most Techs who have worked in the Blood Bank know the stress level and don't needlessly interrupt.

At the last place I worked, we were once off the Main Lab - in what I refer to as a closet. Moving into the Main Lab at first seemed a bad idea, but turned out to be the best thing. The camaraderie between the Blood Bank and the Main Lab increased apparently to everyone's benefit. And it even helped donor recruitment.

Just be careful of the rules you write. You have to live with those rules too.

Just a question - we may have to move from our "segregated area" to the main lab sometime in the future - we are worried about the noise and interruption factors too.

How did you manage the design of the new space and how was it "the best thing" for the Blood Bank - what changed and how did you keep the noise and interruptions to a minimum? Thanks for any time you can give.