Think you can multitask? Think again, says an article in Psychology Today.
From the article:
Even if we think we can multi-task, most of us can’t, David Strayer, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Utah, tells Psychology Today. “Our brains don’t do two things at once; instead, we rapidly switch between tasks, putting heavy burdens on attention, memory and focus,” the article notes. “Talking on a cellphone while driving (perhaps the most ubiquitous type of multi-tasking) leaves people as cognitively impaired as if they’d had two or three drinks,” Strayer’s studies have found.
So all those Pharmacists and techs that believe that they are excellent multi-taskers.. are really fooling themselves.. and working 12-14 hr days without scheduled breaks… I am sure improves their ability to multi-task.. Nothing like their cognitive ability is impaired as much as a couple of drinks.. you top it off with fatigue and hypoglycemia – because you have skipped a meal or two — and the distraction of a full bladder that is trying to get your attention..
Filed under: General Problems
Seems like tech help has reached the “barely there” status. Not only are there endless distractions, but now the pharmacist must run to drop off, solve insurance issues, handle production( because the one and only tech is at the register), process and administer immunizations, and call the required number of pts whose prescriptions are waiting or due. This is in addition to checking prescriptions and answering the phones. The environment is not just insane, it is downright dangerous.
@Peon..a bit of sarcasm with that comment sorry. I’m only going back to big box retail if it’s on MY terms and we know that will never happen. Filling 400+with little help then going home and trying to remember if it all was filled correctly created stress and major physical illness…I left big box corporate retail. I will only do Indy type retail or one of the other areas of pharmacy where I am experienced. Until corporate retail has a huge reformation back to the profession I started in…patient centered…sane and sensible work environment
This has always been an irritant to me about pharmacy. There are far too many distractions. The work environment is bad. Your brain can only do so much at one time. It can get overloaded when you have people from 3 or 4 different directions asking you questions, all at the same time, with phones ringing and customers fussing at the register. In my opinion, the pharmacy work environment is INSANE. We still live in the same stupid pharmacy setup that we had 100 years ago, except we are closer to the customers and closer to distractions. How would you like your physician operating on you and him answering questions from nurses and answering the phone at the same time? Boliemph87, if you think mailing to corporate will do any good, I will tell you that it will not. I sent 30 emails to my corporate regarding the distraction of cellphone customers in our windows and asking if we could put a sign in the window. I was told to ‘shut up’.
Every big box pharmacy site should send a.copy to their corporate….maybe a mass mailing might give the suits a small hint