Bright Shiny Objects

…if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me Acts 20:24

Do you wrestle with BSO syndrome? Bright Shiny Objects somehow attract, distract, disorient, and even divert your attention from the task at hand. You can be writing a report, get an e-mail “pop-up box” and you are off…BSO strikes again. You can be washing the car and see a bank statement on the seat. You run in the house, intending to put it on the desk, only to find the hose still running 15 minutes later when you return from having gone on-line to pay a bill!

BSO happens!

With the complexity of your world, all the visual, audio, and tactile stimuli, you might well feel as if you are a walking target for BSO. So how do you avoid getting distracted from daily tasks or work by something else that looks more interesting, important, even more fun and definitely shinier?

You probably start your day off with the finest of intentions to accomplish what is important, mission essential and key to your patient’s wellbeing, even your own well being. As you do your best you find a BSO attack that somehow derails those intentions and leaves you gasping in wonderment…where did the day go…what did I get done??

Read some BSO confessions:

• “…lately I've been suffering with a little ADD. My big thing is noise. I'm very sensitive to noise around me and it's the most common thing to distract me when I'm focused. Also - email. That little pop-up box that lets you know there's a new message is pure evil. It catches my eye and I'm instantly distracted.”
• “My "BSO Syndrome" always hits when I am tired or beginning to drag. So, because I am a morning person and am at my best at the beginning of my day, I tackle those mundane, boring tasks first thing.”

BSO and patient safety are closely related: MEDMARX records show that the following types of healthcare workers are the ones most often involved with errors associated with distractions: nursing personnel (55%), pharmacy personnel (32%), and physicians (7.3%). The data indicate that distractions are a bigger problem for nurses, who generally administer medications, and for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, who are involved with drug preparation and dispensing, http://www.usp.org/pdf/EN/patientSafety/drugSafetyReview2003-11-17.pdf

So what do you do? The same article reported these ideas:

• Place phones away from those selected healthcare workers who are actively preparing, dispensing, or administering medications.
• Develop a pocket checklist for selected critical tasks that outline the steps that should be followed in that task.
• Use visible Do Not Disturb signs in selected areas or for selected job tasks.

BSO happens in all of life and it has consequences. Focus on what is at hand, do it with purpose and choose not to be diverted until you have finished!

In a few moments’ patients, physicians, associates, and peers will be looking to you to complete an important task. Don’t let BSO disappoint them. Be clear in your purpose, focused in your response and delight them with your effectiveness!

Much more than medicine indeed!

Peter

Peter Bath, D.Min.
V.P Spiritual Wellness & Human Development

More Musings at: http://www.shawneemission.org/spiritual-wellness/