Underperforming medical assistant

[abcdior]

Anyone here have experience with working with an underperforming medical assistant?

We brought a new MA onboard at our clinic who is currently in training. She has been here for 1 month.

Only worked with her 2x so far and areas of concerns noted:

"forgets" to record certain vitals. eg. no height and HR. or no weight when patients are roomed
takes 20-30min to room a patient. We do 15 min appointments here
not good with computers. unreliable in sending emails, especially ones which need to adhere to security protocols. unreliable with using tele-med softwares.

she is still on probation period.

what should I do?

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[deleted87716]

She's still pretty green. Has anyone spent any time training her? If not, give her a break. Train her yourself if you have to. I've hired lots of green folks over the years. They usually work out. Beats trying to break a ton of bad habits.

 

[FrustratedFamDoc]

Have others had similar experiences? What's the leadership structure like in the office? Like BD said, she may just need some coaching.

"Hey so and so, as part of your training, lets talk about some things that I would like to see you do better. Let me not overwhelm you right off the bat, but lets focus on these 2-3 things over the next week and then we'll go from there."

The pool of quality applicants is pretty shallow. Be sure you're 100% certain before moving on from someone.

 

[Nevergiveupok]

Anyone here have experience with working with an underperforming medical assistant?

We brought a new MA onboard at our clinic who is currently in training. She has been here for 1 month.

Only worked with her 2x so far and areas of concerns noted:

"forgets" to record certain vitals. eg. no height and HR. or no weight when patients are roomed
takes 20-30min to room a patient. We do 15 min appointments here
not good with computers. unreliable in sending emails, especially ones which need to adhere to security protocols. unreliable with using tele-med softwares.

she is still on probation period.

what should I do?

Pay her an above average rate and I'm sure her bad habits will go away.

 

[Keona]

Anyone here have experience with working with an underperforming medical assistant?

We brought a new MA onboard at our clinic who is currently in training. She has been here for 1 month.

Only worked with her 2x so far and areas of concerns noted:

"forgets" to record certain vitals. eg. no height and HR. or no weight when patients are roomed
takes 20-30min to room a patient. We do 15 min appointments here
not good with computers. unreliable in sending emails, especially ones which need to adhere to security protocols. unreliable with using tele-med softwares.

she is still on probation period.

what should I do?

Have her spend more time with one of the good mas. I also will try to immediately tell people when they’re doing something wrong so they aren’t stressed out all day worrying about what I think. If I start seeing multiple things wrong I write a list and give to their supervisor who can address it in a less intimidating way than if I do it.

 

[Vandalia]

From a different specialty but dealt with the same issues.

You can't fix stupid or lazy.

If it is either of those two things - or both - fire her while she is still on her probationary period. It is easier.

Now, if it is because she is unfamiliar with the EMR, or doesn't know what to do, or doesn't know how to manage the patient flow, those things can potentially be improved. But it boils down to the question if the problem is treatable or not. The other MA's know the answer to that. If they won't tell you, then it hints at another organizational problem.

The above assumes that you are the decision maker. If you are not and simply are forced to deal with the problem, then the answer to that will require a book.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Depends on if you have any say. If you are the one who hires/fires then you can do what you will. If you are not and are part of a bigger entity that doesn't give you any say then. 1. Let the clinic manager know that she is too slow and hindering clinic progress. 2. Request that a seasoned MA work with her to figure out where the break down is.

Agree though that you can't teach someone to care about the job. You can't fix stupid or lazy.