Hello,

Does anyone know if there are any regulations prohibiting radio music in blood bank?

Perhaps a regulation about noise, or distractions.

Thank you very much.

:cool:

Not aware of any regulations, but as a rule the less distractions in blood bank the better. Prior to moving into our new area last August the blood bank did not have a door. I did have one inspector strongly suggest that blood bank should have a door to close out distractions. The new blood bank area has a door.

We allow it as long as it is not loud, and that nobody in the room is objecting to it. With all of the other distractions in the BB (phone, pneumatic tube, overhead pages, etc), the techs felt that having background music playing was actually calming.

If someone in the room says it is bothering them, it gets shut off. Period.

I agree that although there are no universal regulations there are the hospitals. Foer safety you must not be distracted. So if it suits everyone then go ahead, if you or someone else is bothered then put it off. You can speak to the manager if necessary. But better to keep it convivial and inform nicely.

Just my thoughts on the matter. I always found the back ground noise of all the equipment in the Blood Bank to be far more distracting than the radio. I'm sure there are some blood bankers who are bothered by the radio but thank goodness I never worked with any of them.

Our lab is devoid of radio - in fact no speakers are enabled on our computers at all.

Since I'm a weekender and 2nd-shifter, I've often longed for some public radio in the background - particularly during inventory. Sensory deprivation has at least as much of a negative affect on concentration as excessive noise, IMHO. But you have to do what works for the majority of your coworkers and it's a good thing to have an agreed-upon policy either way to prevent friction.

Just my thoughts on the matter. I always found the back ground noise of all the equipment in the Blood Bank to be far more distracting than the radio. I'm sure there are some blood bankers who are bothered by the radio but thank goodness I never worked with any of them.

I never liked radio close to my bench in blood bank. When I was in chemistry, I did not care/mind!!!

I was oppositely affected compared to John. I found that with all the background noise in BB the radio was just added noise and I felt like my BP went down noticeably once the radio was off. Outside of work I like a quiet radio. I agree that it has to be negotiated; different brains are distracted/soothed by different things.

I was oppositely affected compared to John. I found that with all the background noise in BB the radio was just added noise and I felt like my BP went down noticeably once the radio was off. Outside of work I like a quiet radio. I agree that it has to be negotiated; different brains are distracted/soothed by different things.

I find radio/music played not too loud to be calming. For some reason, though, classical music agitates me, which is the exact opposite of what one would expect. The policy here is music with agreement between the techs-if anyone objects, it is turned off. I don't mind either way. I often provide my own internal music: I am almost constantly humming to myself!

Edited July 20, 201213 yr by Sfdreams
typo-left one word out

I am like John. We have always enjoyed music. We currently have a qickmix on Pandora streaming at work. This way we all get to hear our music....

Just have the administration buy everyone an ipod with ear buds. Then we can all listen (or not listen) to whatever we want!

Scott

I would get distracted. I prefered to concentrate without any distractions.....But then I never really liked radio in blood bank unless my favourite song is playing and then I would want to listen my song without being distracted by work!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree! Less work! More distractions!

Scott

I always train my new techs: in the Blood Bank you WILL have constant distractions (phones, interruptions from other staff, overhead pages, fire alarms, etc). Learn how to not let the distractions rattle you. Learn how to focus among the noise, because if you make a serious error, you can't say "but the phone was ringing off the hook". Seems kind of lame if you hurt a patient because you let a phone ringing interrupt your thoughts.

I suspect it partly depends where on the ADHD spectrum one's brain operates.

Good point, Terri. At some point here, we have to remind younger trainees that when things get busy, that's the time you have to extra careful to SLOW DOWN to ensure mistakes aren't made.

We remind them that people tend to get flustered when they try to speed things up to keep up with a heavy workload. This just create more errors. At McDonalds, you may burn a few fries or mess up an order. But this type of thing cannot happen in a hospital. Calling for help is emphasized.

Scott