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; assisting the physician with the examination, treatment and minor surgery and instructing the patient in the preparation for x-ray and diagnostic imaging procedures; 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 procedure for sanitizing office instruments, for sterilizing articles, using moist heat and for 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.
• Explain the purpose of OSHA and identify OSHA guidelines