Pearson Comprehensive Medical Assistants Workbook Answers for Chapter 34
Contents
- Overview of the Workbook
- The Basics of Medical Assisting
- The Role of the medical assistant
- The Medical Assistant’s Duties
- The Medical Assistant’s Responsibilities
- The Medical Assistant’s Code of Ethics
- The Medical Assistant’s Professionalism
- The Medical Assistant’s Work Environment
- The Medical Assistant’s Job Outlook
- The Medical Assistant’s Salary
If you’re looking for answers to the Pearson Comprehensive Medical assistants Workbook for Chapter 34, you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive overview of everything you need to know about this chapter.
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Overview of the Workbook
Pearson Comprehensive Medical Assistants Workbook is a compilation of questions and answers geared to help those who are preparing to become a medical assistant The workbook includes sample questions that are similar to those found on the certification exam, as well as answer keys and explanations. In addition, the workbook offers an overview of medical assisting roles and responsibilities, along with information on how to best prepare for a career in medical assisting.
The Basics of Medical Assisting
The Basics of Medical Assisting provides you with an overview of the medical assisting profession, scope of practice, and how medical assistants fit into the health care delivery team. You’ll also find information on medical assisting roles and responsibilities, as well as MA education and training requirements.
The Role of the medical assistant
Medical assistants (MAs) are a vital part of the healthcare team. They are usually the first and last people patients see when they visit a healthcare facility, and they play an important role in patient care and customer service.
MAs typically work in clinics and physician’s offices, but they can also be found in hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare settings. Their duties vary depending on the type of facility they work in, but generally include taking medical histories and vital signs, preparing patients for examination, assisting doctors during examinations, performing diagnostic tests, scheduling appointments, and handling billing and insurance paperwork.
In some states, MAs are allowed to perform more invasive procedures such as giving injections or removing sutures. They may also have additional responsibilities such as supervising other medical office staff or coordinating patient care among different departments in a hospital.
The Medical Assistant’s Duties
Medical assistants typically perform both administrative and clinical duties, although their exact job tasks may vary depending on the size and location of their employer. In small medical offices, medical assistants may be responsible for a wider range of duties, while those working in larger facilities may specialize in specific areas. Clinical duties may include taking and recording medical histories and vital signs, preparing patients for examination, assisting the physician during the exam, performing routine laboratory tests and procedures, and scheduling follow-up appointments. Administrative duties may include greeting patients, answering phones, scheduling appointments, handling correspondence, filling out insurance forms, handling billing and coding information for insurance purposes, and maintaining patient records. Many medical assistants also provide instruction to patients on topics such as diet, medication schedules, and self-care after discharge from a hospital or other healthcare facility.
The Medical Assistant’s Responsibilities
The medical assistant’s responsibilities are many and varied. In general, the medical assistant is responsible for performing certain clinical tasks, as well as performing certain administrative tasks. The clinical tasks that a medical assistant may be responsible for include taking and recording vital signs, drawing blood, performing urine dipstick tests, preparing patients for examinations, assisting the physician during examinations, and giving injections. The administrative tasks that a medical assistant may be responsible for include scheduling appointments, verifying insurance benefits, billing patients, and coding diagnoses and procedures.
The Medical Assistant’s Code of Ethics
In this rapidly changing health care environment, the medical assistant’s code of ethics provides a set of basic guidelines to assist the medical assistant in resolving the ethical dilemmas that may arise in daily practice. The following discussion is designed to help you understand and apply the code to your own ethical decision making.
The code has six main sections:
1. Respect for patient autonomy
2. Beneficence
3. Nonmaleficence
4. Justice
5. Truthfulness and confidentiality
6. professional responsibility
Each section includes a discussion of the ethical principles involved and how they apply to the medical assistant’s role in patient care.
The Medical Assistant’s Professionalism
In order to be successful in the medical assistant profession, there are a number of important qualities that you will need to possess. Professionalism is one of the most important of these qualities.
professionalism noun \prə-ˌfesh-ə-ˈna-liz-əm\
: the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or professional person
: the level of quality that is considered appropriate for a professional
As a medical assistant, you will be working with patients on a daily basis. It is important that you always maintain a professional demeanor when working with patients. This means being respectful and courteous at all times, and not engaging in any unprofessional behavior.
Some examples of unprofessional behavior that you should avoid include:
– Gossiping about other employees or patients
– yelling or using profanity
– being late for work or appointments
– failing to follow policies and procedures
The Medical Assistant’s Work Environment
The medical assistant’s work environment may be in a clinic, hospital, or physician’s office. The type of setting influences the medical assistant’s daily duties. For example, a medical assistant who works in a busy clinic might not have as much patient contact as a medical assistant who works in a smaller physician’s office.
There are many types of clinics, including those that focus on family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery. There also are specialized clinics for such things as physical therapy, substance abuse treatment, and mental health care. Each type of clinic has its own atmosphere and patient population.
Hospitals also vary in size and type. A large hospital will have more patients and therefore more medical assistants than a smaller hospital. A teaching hospital is affiliated with a medical school and is where new doctors learn their trade. A research hospital is involved in testing new drugs and procedures.
Most hospitals have out-patient departments where patients come for tests or surgery and then go home the same day. Some medical procedures require an overnight stay in the hospital. In-patient care is when patients stay in the hospital for an extended period of time to receive treatment or recover from surgery.
The Medical Assistant’s Job Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for medical assistants is excellent. The bureau projects that employment of medical assistants will grow much faster than the average for all occupations between 2016 and 2026. The demand for health services is expected to increase as the population ages. As a result, there will be an increased need for medical assistants to perform routine administrative and clinical duties, allowing physicians and other healthcare practitioners to see more patients.
The Medical Assistant’s Salary
The median annual salary for medical assistants was $33,610 in 2017, with the top 10% of earners making more than $48,000 per year. The lowest 10% of earners made less than $24,000 per year. Salaries vary depending on experience, education, location, and employer. Medical assistants with certification may earn a higher salary than those without certification.