Assignment 1

An example that I can think of when a breakdown in communication occurred was just yesterday. I work for an eye doctor’s office and at times it gets extremely hectic. My position at work is one of many. Myself and the rest of my staff are to answer phones, greet patients, check insurance, hand out paperwork, pre-test patients, train new contact lens wearers (if any), and many other jobs all before they can been taken back to see the doctor.  Most of my work deals with face to face communication, therefore when the office is behind on schedule it impairs the way I and the staff do and handle things. Yesterday, a patient came into my job and said that she had a supply of contact lenses to be picked up. So, I went to the back, checked the contact lens dispense cabinet and did not find, them. Next, I tried to locate her file and I could not find that either. Confused, I went to the front desk and asked the patient if she received a phone call indicating that her contact lenses have arrived and that she could come get them? She responded by saying that she called the Thursday before Labor Day and placed the order over the phone with my manager. After asking the patient questions like: When did you place the order? Did you already pay for the contacts? Did you have them shipped to your house? The patient was frustrated and ended up leaving the office later to return. First I thought to myself, where did Laura, my manager, put the file and if she placed the order in? When the patient returned I managed to locate her file and also see if there was any documentation of a transaction being made on her credit card or bill. [Not even thinking about it, when someone writes something down that’s also a means of communicating with others.] As I checked the ledgers, patient’s payment history, I come to the realization that my manager must had forgotten to place the patients order.

Because I know how the office gets during back to school season and holiday weekends, we (the staff) get bombarded with a lot of work; therefore when patients call over the phone to order something, rarely do we forget about the call. Since my manager is in charge of the office, most likely when the patient called my manager, Laura must have had her mind on something else while juggling patients around and must have forgotten to place the patients order.

I think if the patient came into the office and spoke to my manager, Laura wouldn’t have forgotten to call in the order. This has happened to me several times, however, I remember before the shift was over once my mind was cleared and the office calmed. This goes to show that communication over the phone can be put aside but communication in person is often settled at that moment.  I believe speaking to someone in person is a better way of communicating because you remember a lot more and you can get things done then and there.