Clinical Procedures Theory (Career) Lesson 1/Clinical Medical Assisting

Responsibilities of the Medical Assistant (1)

Medical assistants are trained in a variety of clinical and administrative skills that are valuable in ambulatory care settings. From taking accurate vitals to answering the phone and scheduling appointments, medical assistants have many responsibilities.

Responsibilities of the Medical Assistant (2)

Medical assistants are the only allied health professionals specifically trained to work in ambulatory care settings, such as physicians' offices, clinics, and group practices. That training includes both clinical and administrative skills, covering a multitude of medical practice needs. The skills performed by an entry-level medical assistant depend on his or her place of employment

Customer Service

A customer is one who purchases goods or services. A customer can also be a person whom you deal with in the work environment.

Great customer service leads to a successful healthcare facility and allows growth.

Customer service is whatever we do for our customers to improve their experience at our healthcare facility.

Our goal is to provide customer satisfaction, or a sense of contentment with the interaction.

The most important things for you to do are:

• Be considerate and treat the patient as you would want to be treated

• Look and act professional

Responsibilities of the Medical Assistant:

CLINICAL SKILLS INCLUDE:

• Assisting during physical examination

• Performing patient screening procedures

• Assisting with minor surgical procedures, including sterilization procedures

• Performing electrocardiograms (ECGs)

• Obtaining and recording vital signs and medical histories

• Performing phlebotomy

• Performing tests permitted by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA-waived tests)

• Collecting and managing laboratory specimens

• Following OSHA regulations on infection control

• Administering vaccinations and medications as ordered by the provider

• Performing patient education and coaching initiatives within the scope of practice

• Documenting accurately in a proper record or an EHR

• Performing first aid procedures as needed

• Performing infection control procedures

• Applying therapeutic communication technique

• Adapting to the special needs of a patient based on his or her developmental life stage, cultural diversity, and individual communication barriers

• Acting as a patient advocate or navigator, including referring patients to community resources

• Acting within legal and ethical boundaries

Responsibilities of the Medical Assistant:

ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS INCLUDE:

• Managing patient scheduling

• Creating and maintaining patient health records

• Documenting accurately in a paper record and an EHR

• Performing routine maintenance of facility equipment

• Performing basic practice finance procedures

• Coordinating third-party reimbursement

• Performing procedural and diagnostic coding

• Communicating professionally with patients, family members, practitioners, peers, and the public

• Managing facility correspondence

• Performing patient education and coaching initiatives within the scope of practice

• Following legal and ethical principles

• Complying with facility safety practices

• Characteristics of Professional Medical Assistants

Professionalism

As a healthcare professional, medical assistants represent the healthcare facility. They are viewed as an extension of the provider and the facility.

A healthcare professional:

• has high ethical standards

• displays integrity

• completes work accurately and in a timely fashion

Courtesy and Respect

Courtesy, respect, and dignity often come together when discussing professionalism. Courtesy is having good manners or being polite. Courteous behavior is polite, open, and welcoming. Respect means to show consideration or appreciation for another person. Dignity is the state or quality of being worthy of respect.

How can the medical assistant treat others with courtesy and respect?

• Make patients feel welcome and respected. A pleasant greeting and eye contact should be the first things patients experience. Thanking patients at the end of the visit is also important.

• Display positive nonverbal behavior. Use a calm tone of voice, eye contact when appropriate, and provide privacy for patients. Maintain patient confidentiality.

• Learn about other cultures in your area. When working with patients from those cultures, make sure to avoid gestures, words, and behaviors that could be perceived as disrespectful.

• Always use proper grammar, without slang words. Explain medical treatments and conditions in simple lay language. If you need to use a medical term, explain it to the patient.

Empathy and Compassion

• Empathy is the ability to understand another's perspective, experiences, or motivations.

• Sympathy is feeling sorrow, concern or pity for what the other person has gone through.

• Compassion means we have a deep awareness of the suffering of another and wish to ease it.

Tact and Diplomacy

Tact and diplomacy are extremely valuable traits in healthcare professionals.

• Being tactful means being acutely sensitive to what is proper and appropriate when interacting with others. A tactful person has the ability to speak or act without offending others.

• Being diplomatic means using tact and sensitivity when interacting with others. The medical assistant must be sensitive to the needs of others.

How can a medical assistant use these traits when communicating with others?

• Consistently be polite and honest during your communication. Show sensitivity to others through your communication and behaviors.

• Recognize the needs and rights of others. Attempt to reach a mutually beneficial resolution to the problem.

• Assess your personal response to the situation. Your personal beliefs and biases should not prevent you from interacting diplomatically and tactfully with others.

Respect for Individual Diversity

Diversity describes the differences and similarities in identity, perspective, and points of view among people. When talking about diversity people usually think of things such as nationality or race, but diversity can also include things such as age and economic status.

Honesty, Dependability, and Responsibility

• Honest means to be sincere and upright.

• Dependable is the same as trustworthy.

• Responsible is defined as being trusted or depended upon.

How can medical assistants perform their duties using these three characteristics?

• Be honest and straightforward when interacting with others.

• Accept responsibility for your mistakes. Determine how to prevent them in the future.

• Follow through on your promises.

• Complete your work to the best of your abilities. Complete it on time.

• Be self-motivated. Don't wait to be asked to complete a task.

• Embrace change.

Professional Appearance

Most ambulatory healthcare facilities have dress codes for employees. Medical assistants are usually required to wear scrubs, along with the facility's nametag (and a photo) clearly visible, provides a typical dress code. Dress codes will vary by facility. Some communities are more conservative, and thus the dress codes reflect this.

Scope of Practice and Standards of Care for Medical Assistants (1)

Scope of practice is defined as the range of responsibilities and practice guidelines that determine the boundaries within which a healthcare worker practices.

One fact is absolutely true about all practicing medical assistants - they are not independent practitioners.

Standards of care set minimum guidelines for job performance and define the expected quality of care. A medical assistant may be charged with professional negligence if they are not following the standards of care.

Some specific tasks are beyond the scope of practice of medical assistants, including the following:

• Performing telephone or in-person triage; medical assistants are not legally authorized to assess or diagnose symptoms

• Prescribing medications or making recommendations about over-the-counter drugs and remedies

• Giving out drug samples without provider permission

• Automatically submitting refill prescription requests without provider orders

• Administering intravenous (IV) medications and starting, flushing, or removing IV lines unless permitted by state law

• Analyzing or interpreting test results

• Operating laser equipment

• Performing laboratory tests that are not CLIA-waived

• Ordering diagnostic or radiographic tests/procedures

What is the difference between scope of practice and standards of care?

• The scope of practice for a medical assistant is what has been established by law in some states or by practice norms, institutions, or physician-employers in states without scope of practice laws.

• Standards of care, however, is a legal term that refers to whether the level and quality of patient service provided is the same as what another healthcare worker with similar training and experience in a similar situation would provide. Standards of care set minimum guidelines for job performance. They define what the expected quality of care is and provide specific guidelines on whether the care standard has been met.

The following are examples of breaks in the standards of care in medical assisting.

• A patient calls reporting a persistent headache for 3 days. You tell the patient to get some rest and take ibuprofen, without referring the call to a provider. What standard of care has been broken?

• A patient asks you to explain his lab report. You do your best to explain what his blood count levels mean. What is the problem here?

• An elderly patient tells you she cannot afford to get her prescriptions filled. The provider is busy, but you know there are samples of the prescribed drug in the medication cupboard, so you give her several packets. Does this follow standard of care?

• A patient tells you her son fell on the playground yesterday, and he is complaining that his arm hurts. You tell the mother 7it is probably just a strain and suggest she wrap the arm with an elastic bandage. Why is this a problem?

• You overhear a patient calling one of the other medical assistants "nurse." Should your co-worker correct the patient? Why?

Professional Medical Assisting Organizations, Credentials, and Continuing Education

There are several options for credentialing by taking a national certification exam, and many agencies offer these. Credentialing has benefits like proof of knowledge and higher salaries and some employers even require credentialing prior to hiring.

Professional Organizations for Medical Assistants

Professional organizations provide many benefits to their members, including opportunities for continuing education, national and regional conventions, and networking opportunities. Medical assisting is no different.

American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)

The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) was created in 1956 and remains the only association devoted exclusively to the medical assisting profession.

According to the AAMA's, becoming a member includes the following benefits:

• AAMA legal counsel represents medical assistants across the United States to fight for the rights of medical assistant practice; in addition, the counsel stays abreast of federal and state laws regarding medical assisting.

• Members receive a complimentary subscription to CMA Today, an informative magazine devoted entirely to the medical assistant profession; each issue (six per year) offers continuing education unit (CEU) articles, medical assisting news, and healthcare information.

Achieving a Credential

Medical assistants have several options if they choose to become credentialed. Being a credentialed medical assistant has certain benefits:

• Credentialed medical assistants have had to pass a national standardized exam. Passing the exam indicates that they have the knowledge to perform the medical assistant's duties.

• Some employers require the credential prior to hiring or within a few months after hiring.

• Some employers will pay more if a person has achieved a medical assistant credential.

The National Health career Association (NHA)

Certification organization for a variety of health care careers, including the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT). The NHA also offers two different medical assisting certifications: Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) and Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA).

How to Succeed as a Medical Assistant Student?

You must first perceive it and then process it. Processing the information is how you internalize it and make it your own. By investigating your learning style:

Stage 1: Concrete reflective style

Stage 2: Abstract reflective style

Stage 3: Abstract active style

Stage 4: Concrete active style

Each of these learning styles has pros and cons.

Stage 1 learners have a concrete reflective style

These students want to know the purpose of the information and have a personal connection to the content. They like to consider a situation from many points of view, observe others, and plan before taking action. They feel most comfortable watching rather than doing, and their strengths include sensitivity toward others, brainstorming, and recognizing and creatively solving problems.

Stage 2 learners have an abstract reflective style

These students are eager to learn just for the sheer pleasure of learning, rather than because the material relates to their personal lives. They like to learn lots of facts and arrange new material in a clear, logical manner. Stage 2 learners plan studying and like to create ways of thinking about the material, but they do not always make the connection with its practical application.

Stage 3 learners have an abstract active style

Learners with this combination learning style want to experiment and test the information they are learning.

Stage 4 learners are concrete active learners

These students are concerned about how they can use what they learn to make a difference in their lives.

Stage 4 learners enjoy teaching others and working in groups and learn best when they can apply new information to real-world problems.

Study Skills: Tricks for Becoming a Successful Student

• Spider map showing multiple main ideas with supporting details.

• Fishbone map used to describe cause of disease.

• Chain-of-events map showing the cause and effect of events.

• Cycle map illustrating the way one action leads to another.

Becoming a Critical Thinker: Making Mental Connections (1)

The process of critical thinking involves (1) sorting out conflicting information, (2) weighing your knowledge about that information, (3) ignoring or letting go of personal biases, and (4) deciding on a reasonable belief or action. Critical thinking is actually an active search for the truth.

Becoming a Critical Thinker: Making Mental Connections (2)

Critical thinking could be described as thorough thinking because it requires learners to keep an open mind to all possibilities. Successful students are thorough thinkers because they must determine the facts about a topic and come to logical conclusions about the material. Critical thinkers also are inquisitive learners; they constantly analyze and sort out conflicting information to reach conclusions.

Medical Professionals and Allied Health Professionals

Medical professionals like MDs, DOs, DCs, hospitalists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants are all providers of healthcare. Each one has specific expertise and abilities which are obtained by their respective educational requirements. Licensing in the state in which they practice is essential and they are qualified to assess, diagnose, and treat patients.

The History of Medicine

Hippocrates, known as the Father of Medicine, is the most famous of the ancient Greek physicians. He was born in 450 BC on the island of Cos in Greece. He is best remembered for the Hippocratic Oath, which has been administered to physicians for more than 2000 years.

The History of Medical Assisting

Nurses were likely to have training only in clinical skills; therefore, many physicians began training individuals - medical assistants - to assist with all the office duties.

The first medical assistants started working in individual physicians' offices with on-the-job training to help out when an extra pair of hands was needed.

Medical Professionals

Physicians and providers (e.g., nurse practitioners and physician assistants) are portals of entry or first contacts for patients seeking medical care.

Primary care providers (PCPs) are healthcare practitioners who monitor a patient's overall health.

Family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics are generally considered primary care specialties.

Doctor of Medicine (MD)

Medical doctors (Doctor of Medicine [MD]) are considered allopathic physicians.

• They are the most widely recognized type of physician.

• They diagnose illness and disease and prescribe treatment for their patients.

• MDs have a wide variety of rights, including writing prescriptions, performing surgery, offering wellness advice, and performing preventive medicine procedures.

Doctors of Osteopathy (DO)

Osteopathic physicians (Doctor of Osteopathy [DO]) complete requirements similar to those of MDs to graduate and practice medicine. Osteopaths use medicine and surgery, in addition to osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT), in treating their patients.

DOs stress preventive medicine and holistic patient care, in addition to a special focus on the musculoskeletal system and OMT.

Doctors of Chiropractic (DC)

Chiropractors (Doctor of Chiropractic [DC]) focus on the relationship between the spine and the function of the body. The goal is to correct alignment problems and thereby alleviate pain, improve function, and support the body's natural ability to heal itself.

Chiropractic care is one of the most common fields of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies

• Chiropractic

• Massage therapy

• Acupuncture

• Biofeedback

• Meditation

• Guided imagery

• Healing touch