Course Number:
MA 122
Transcript Title:
Medical Office Assistant 2
Created:
Aug 15, 2022
Updated:
Aug 15, 2022
Total Credits:
1
Lecture Hours:
10
Lecture / Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0
Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:
No
Satisfies General Education requirement:
No
Grading Options
A-F, P/NP
Default Grading Options
A-F
Repeats available for credit:
0

Course Description

Examines communication and professionalism in the role of the medical assistant with emphasis on verbal and non-verbal communication, patient education and communicating wellness.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Develop an understanding of professionalism and how it relates to the delivery of health care.
  2. Articulate what it means to communicate through touch the qualities of compassion, empathy and understanding.
  3. Use role play to educate patients.
  4. Recognize the grief process and how grief influences patient compliance.
  5. Apply principles of effective workplace ethics and communication.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

  1. Student will complete at least one journal entry per week emphasizing the setting and achieving of goals to demonstrate understanding of the application of material to the real world.
  2. Student will complete one or more written papers on topics related to communicating with patients, families and fellow employees.
  3. Student will report on one CME study out of the AAMA journal that emphasizes one of the stated outcomes.
  4. Student will produce and explain a patient brochure on selected topics appropriate to educating patients.

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

  1. Introduction to Communication
    • Develop an awareness of self-understanding and social adaptability for communications and actions with physicians, employees and patients.
    • List responsibilities in the communication process
    • Gain an awareness of the impact of culture, social and ethnic influences on communication
    • Demonstrate empathy, active listening and respect when communicating with both coworkers and patients.
    • Demonstrate effective writing skills in development of a patient brochure and weekly journal entries.
  2. Communication Barriers
    • Differentiate between adaptive and non-adaptive coping mechanisms.
    • Explain how to approach communication with patients who have physical or mental impairments, or emotional responses such as assertive, aggressive or passive behaviors.
    • Differentiate between various styles and methods of communication including open-ended questioning, clarifying, reflection, restatement and summarizing techniques.
    • Learn to coach patients with consideration to cultural diversity, social or ethnic differences, stage of life, gender, religion, economic status and appearance; and understand how those differences affect communication
    • Learn to respond to nonverbal communication
  3. Learning about the Patient
    • Discuss the theories of Maslow, Erikson and Kubler-Ross in understanding a patient’s communication style.
    • Differentiate between subjective and objective responses to questions.
    • Use feedback techniques to obtain patient information including reflection, restatement and clarification.
  4. Educating the patient
    • List and describe factors that make teaching and coaching patients successful which might include such topics as health maintenance, disease prevention, compliance with a treatment plan, using community resources and adapting the plan to meet the individual patient’s needs.
  5. Communicating Wellness
    • Articulate what it means to be “healthy” and demonstrate ways to explain health to patients.
    • Coach patients regarding disease prevention and treatment plans.
  6. Communicating Through Grief
    • Explain how grief influences communication between patient and caregiver.
  7. Communicating in the Workplace
    • Use effective workplace communication in working within a health care team
    • Be able to utilize computers and word processing to communicate with patients and co-workers.
    • Develop ethical and professional behavior as it applies to the health care workplace.

Department Notes

This is a required course which fulfills a portion of the curriculum for the certificate in Medical Assisting. The extent of transferability or credit allowed for the course would be dependent upon the institution and the program to which the student is transferring.

Related Instruction

  1. Introduction to Communication
    • Develop an awareness of self-understanding and social adaptability for communications and actions with physicians, employees and patients.
    • List responsibilities in the communication process
    • Gain an awareness of the impact of culture, social and ethnic influences on communication
    • Demonstrate empathy, active listening and respect when communicating with both coworkers and patients.
    • Demonstrate effective writing skills in development of a patient brochure and weekly journal entries.
  2. Communication Barriers
    • Differentiate between adaptive and non-adaptive coping mechanisms.
    • Explain how to approach communication with patients who have physical or mental impairments, or emotional responses such as assertive, aggressive or passive behaviors.
    • Differentiate between various styles and methods of communication including open-ended questioning, clarifying, reflection, restatement and summarizing techniques.
    • Learn to coach patients with consideration to cultural diversity, social or ethnic differences, stage of life, gender, religion, economic status and appearance; and understand how those differences affect communication
    • Learn to respond to nonverbal communication
  3. Learning about the Patient
    • Discuss the theories of Maslow, Erikson and Kubler-Ross in understanding a patient’s communication style.
    • Differentiate between subjective and objective responses to questions.
    • Use feedback techniques to obtain patient information including reflection, restatement and clarification.
  4. Educating the patient
    • List and describe factors that make teaching and coaching patients successful which might include such topics as health maintenance, disease prevention, compliance with a treatment plan, using community resources and adapting the plan to meet the individual patient’s needs.
  5. Communicating Wellness
    • Articulate what it means to be “healthy” and demonstrate ways to explain health to patients.
    • Coach patients regarding disease prevention and treatment plans.
  6. Communicating Through Grief
    • Explain how grief influences communication between patient and caregiver.
  7. Communicating in the Workplace
    • Use effective workplace communication in working within a health care team
    • Be able to utilize computers and word processing to communicate with patients and co-workers.
    • Develop ethical and professional behavior as it applies to the health care workplace.

Related Instruction

Activity

Hours of Instruction Method

RI Hours

Listening skill development lecture and Journal Entry 1 hour lecture

3

Telephone Etiquette Lecture and Journal Entry 1 hour lecture 3
Developing Diversity Awareness Lecture and Journal Entry 1 hour lecture 3
Managing Conflict Lecture and Journal Entry 1 hour lecture 3
Working within a team group project 1 hour lecture 3
Development of Problem Solving Skills in a group setting 1 hour group project 3
Using touch as a communication tool journal entry 1 hour lecture 3
Helping patients with communication barriers group project 1 hour group project 3
Creating a patient education handout 1 hour presentations 3
Asking the right questions group project 1 hour group project 3
 

Total Hours

30