help with organizational skills

[pmksis]

I am an RN in a busy family practice office. I am wondering if anyone can share tips/advice on staying organized. Here is a typical day.

I do triage nursing so I am answering the phone and scheduling appts, giving advice, sending people to the ER, etc. On top of that the Dr. comes out from exam room asking for various testing to be scheduled (CT, MRI's, etc). During my "down time" when the phone isn't ringing I am calling in Rxs, scheduling referral appts, doing Prior Auths, and helping the MA keep the exam rooms filled with patients. For example, if the MA has a blood draw and the doctor is in with a pt and doesn't have anyone to see, it is my responsibility to room the next pt. Meanwhile, the doctor is answering questions generated from phone calls and I am responsible for checking the urgent box and getting back to those pts who have called in. I am not complaining but I feel like I have ADD sometimes:(!!! Another nurse in the office seems to stay so organized and on top of everything and get work done so much faster!

Any advice would be appreciated:)

[BSN75]

I have been working in Family Practice for a long time, and know how hectic it can be sometimes. I try to do things in the following order:

1. Always make sure the doctor has a patient to see.

2. Anything that's urgent gets a blue folder on top of it and gets sat on my desk. Can be a call in from a patient, or a call back to a patient or facility. That way we all know it needs to be done ASAP.

3. Between patients, I grab as many easy refiils as I can and get them out of the way. If you can grab a bunch that all go to the same pharmacy, you can knock those out really quickly.

4. Unless the testing is urgent, we have pts schedule all their own tests. We have a referral form that has phone #s of all convenient locations. We just sign it and hand it to them. If it needs prior auth, we call them later with the #s.

These are just a few things I always remember to keep my day flowing smoothly. Angie