MA 126 - Clinical Office Procedures

A lecture/laboratory course which is designed to provide the medical assistant with entry-level skills in clinical office procedures. Instruction includes fundamentals of patient care as practiced in a medical office during examination and treatment. Laboratory sessions provide practice in: organizing the examination or treatment area before, during and after patient care; procedures for sanitization, disinfection and sterilization; adhering to the OSHA standard, recording subjective and objective patient data; procedures for patient positioning and draping; measuring and recording vital signs; performing eye and ear procedures, assisting the physician with the examination, treatment and minor surgery; performing heat and cold applications; instructing patient in the use of ambulatory devices and in the preparation for x-ray and diagnostic imaging procedures; and identifying surgical instruments.

Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe and demonstrate medical aseptic practices that should be followed in a medical office;
• demonstrate the proper procedures for taking the vital signs of temperature, pulse, respiration and blood pressure;
• collect data from the patient for use in the health history, take height and weight measurements, demonstrate proper placement and draping of a patient and proper assisting techniques during the physical examination;
• demonstrate proper procedure for weighing and measuring the pediatric patient and growth chart plotting;
• demonstrate proper procedure for testing distance and near visual acuity and assessing color vision; perform an eye and ear irrigation and eye and ear instillation;
• demonstrate proper procedures for applying heat and cold treatments;
• demonstrate proper procedure for sanitizing office instruments, sterilizing articles using moist heat, and chemical disinfection;
• demonstrate proficiency in performing sterile dressing change;
• name and identify instruments used in minor office surgery; demonstrate proper use of each while maintaining a sterile field, and proper procedure for assisting in minor office surgery;
• describe patient preparation required for each of the following types of X-ray examinations: barium meal, barium enema, cholecystography, and intravenous pyelography, colonoscopy, and diagnostic imaging procedures;
• enter patient information on medical chart;
• apply proper medical terminology in all of the above areas; and
• explain the purpose of OSHA and identify OSHA guidelines.