Why Medical Office Staff Shouldn’t Multi-task

OK, so we all realize that working as a certified nursing assistant, medical office assistant or even as a medical billing and coding pro will mean we’re going to be involved in a fast-paced work environment.  Moreover, it means we’re going to be working in an environment where even minor foul ups can have seriously dangerous consequences for our customers (i.e. patients).  It does fit the stereotype of the medical office worker to be someone who handles multiple, critical tasks at the same time.  Emergency cases, telephones, filing, patient questions and more are obviously on the plates of the certified nursing assistant and the medical office assistant.  However, recent research suggests that very few people are truly equipped to successfully multi-task.  Many think they’re good at it, but the research shows that most people engaging in handling multiple items at the same time produce sub-par work.  Don’t take my word for it.  Read the article about this research out of University of Utah here.   Then consider whether you’d be better off handling one task, perfectly, at a time.