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Interesting, but even so-called right handed people still have various left hand preferences. For example, I would struggle to use a dissection forceps properly with my right hand, or to tie my "surgical" knots with my right hand, or to use a fork (in it's usual "inverted" mode) with my right hand, and even gear changing (when I drive on the continent) is more awkward with my right hand. So, by ambidextrous I don't mean equally capable: we carry out a range of manual activities each day with some being more right handed and some being more left handed. It is only the expression of language through handwriting that is almost exclusively one-sided; all other activities are shared fairly equally. And if you remove expression of language, our handedness almost disappears. A ----- Original Message ----- From: "John PASKINS" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 7:48 AM Subject: Re: Consultant office usage[Scanned] I think you are wrong about "handedness". There is no evidence that anyone is equally capable for everything they do with both hands and there is evidence that "handedness" develops in utero. >>> Adrian Fogarty 08/19/05 12:32am >>> I agree, with very large departments, say, 6-10 consultants, it seems ludicrous to have 3-5 secretaries. With that many consultants, the same admin burden is shared among a greater number of consultants, which means it's more likely that each can do more of his own typing etc. Like Rowley, I've moved away from dictation (in the NHS at least). I used to dictate, then had to proofread the draft, then often had to reproofread the copy one final time! It was very laborious and inefficient. Now, for anything under a page or two, I type it myself, and the overall time is no worse than dictation with proofing. But when I do pages and pages (of medicolegals) I resort to old-fashioned dictation, but then the proofing is much slicker as my legal secretary's used to the routine. Horses for courses I suspect! Like Matt I have the email/edit/print routine set up with my NHS secretary, but bizarrely we often reverse roles! One example: she types up all my references (apart from the really important ones), emails the copy to me to edit, then I email it back for her to file, print and post. If only my SHOs knew that! But then again I often email references direct, i.e. not an attachment, just a plain email. I figure the hospital domain address must be every bit as secure/persuasive as a signature on headed notepaper. I certainly accept such references when recruiting. But I'm fortunate I can touch type, I can "lay the thoughts directly onto the screen" in an automatic intuitive fashion, and much faster than I can handwrite. Am surprised all kids aren't taught to touch type nowadays. I can't remember the last time I wrote anything significant with pen and paper, other than my signature. You know, I like to vex my plastics colleagues who insist on knowing a patient's handedness by telling them 1) we're all essentially ambidextrous; traditional handedness relates primarily to the manual expression of language, which is increasingly ambidextrous via QWERTY keyboards, and 2) you're accepting this patient because you're repairing this tendon/nerve irrespective of which hand it is! Who knows, perhaps the kids born in 2055 or 2105 won't have handedness anymore; whether it's QWERTY keyboards or something much more sophisticated, I doubt they'll be handwriting! AF ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dunn Matthew Dr. (RJC) A & E - SwarkHosp-TR" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 4:43 PM Subject: Re: Consultant office usage > Personally I think you need access to a PA at least during office hours. > Arranging your own appointments (particularly with other people who don't > have PAs) is time consuming (and expensive to the trust). Chasing up notes > and results equally so. And useful to have someone to screen phone calls > for > importance and urgency. Entirely possible to share the PA between > consultants depending on workload. I'd think that the one PA/ secretary > for > two consultants is about as low as you can go for the requirement for > maximum efficiency in a busy department particularly if undergraduate > students are taught and clinics are run. Being flexible and sharing PAs/ > secretaries is clearly more effective than having one person who may be on > leave when they are needed. Actual typing could probably be done by the > consultant provided there was an appropriate terminal to hand and a bit of > time spent learning to type (the advantage of dictating instead of typing > is > that a tape machine is more portable). > I agree that I don't often send letters; and when I do it is usually for > official purposes (as often as not I discuss the letter with the person > I'm > sending it to before sending it and ask them whether they'd like to > receive > it, or if I should make any alterations before it is sent). When I do, I > find the secretaries are better than I am at tidying up the appearance. > Also > useful for e-mailing a secretary a document that needs printing and > getting > them to do the printing and collating of copies and sending them out to > appropriate people. > If you are running at under 0.5 secretaries per consultant and feel they > are > underworked I would suggest that you may not be delegating as much as you > should. The number needed per consultant may well drop off in a larger > department, though; and also as consultant numbers increase secretarial > work > will not increase proportionately. > > > Matt Dunn >