Medical Assisting Chapter 3 Vocabulary

anacusis

complete hearing loss

biases

opinions without foundation or reason; prejudices

clarification

explanation; removal of confusion or uncertainty

cultural competence

the ability to understand, respect, and interact effectively with people from other cultures or belief systems

cultures

the ways of life, including commonly held beliefs, of groups of people

demeanor

the way a person looks, behaves, and conducts themselves

discrimination

making a difference in favor for or against someone

dysphasia

difficulty speaking

dysphonia

impairment of voice; hoarseness

feedback

in communication, the response to input from another

gender identities

a person’s sense of being a man/male, woman/female, both, neither, or another gender

grief

great sadness caused by loss

messages

words sent from one person to another; information sent through spoken, written, or body language

mourning

to demonstrate signs of grief; grieving

nonlanguage

not expressed in spoken language, for example, laughing, sobbing, grunting, and sighing

paralanguage

factors connected with, but not essentially part of, language, for example, tone of voice, volume, and pitch

paraphrasing

restating what you heard using your own words

presbycusis

loss of hearing associated with aging

reflecting

repeat what one heard using open-ended questions

stereotyping

to place in a fixed mold, without consideration of differences

summarizing

briefly reviewing the information discussed to determine the patient’s comprehension

therapeutic

having to do with treating or curing disease; curative