Medical Assistant Program

• Keep homework organized in a binder (inch to 1.5" works well).
• You'll get a study guide near the midterm — most AMCA exam questions come from that guide, so treat it as your master study list.
• Midterm = everything up to the halfway point. Final = pulled from the same study guide, covering everything.
• Most of the exam leans on phlebotomy and insurance topics — these come later in the course, so don't panic early on.

• Sign-in sheet tracks attendance/hours — no online portal, it's paper-based.
• If absent, follow up with the instructor by email (not the office manager) — unless it's an after-hours emergency.
• Miss a day? You make it up on the next lab day by staying the full lab duration (e.g., if you were scheduled 7:30–noon, you stay 7:30 to whenever lab ends that day).

• Not every program requires one — depends on your program.
• Placement depends on your availability. Full availability (mornings through early afternoon) = easier to place. Very limited/specific hours = you may need to find your own.
• Most externships are unpaid and full-time, though paid ones do occasionally exist.
• If placed through the program, be gracious about the placement — there's a waitlist of other students behind you.
• You are always free to find your own externship that fits your schedule.

You, in this program, are training toward the CMA path — certified through AMCA.

• Ophthalmologist — diagnoses/treats diseases & disorders of the EYE (not the same as an optometrist, who measures vision only)
• Optometrist — measures vision (distance charts, glasses/contacts)
• Audiologist — hearing specialist
• Oncology — cancer & tumors
• Geriatrics — older adult patients
• Gynecology, hematology, dermatology, cardiology — other common specialties mentioned

Not just appearance — it's how you act: accountability, empathy, communication, dependability, initiative, common courtesy, honesty.

1. Emergency procedures
2. Grooming / preparing patients
3. Performing procedures
4. Administrative work / files (lowest priority)

Be approachable to everyone regardless of: race, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status.

• HIPAA = protects patient health information privacy. Includes not gossiping about patients, even casually.
• MAs can: give injections, perform venipuncture (phlebotomy), EKGs.
• MAs cannot: start or administer IVs — that's outside your scope of practice. Doing it anyway is a legal/ethical violation.

Flow: Sender → Message (written/oral/nonverbal) → Medium → Receiver → Feedback loop.

• Active listening = repeating words/phrases back, or giving approving/disapproving nods while someone talks.
• Perception = awareness of your own feelings AND the feelings of others.
• The single most universal positive nonverbal gesture = a smile.
• Appropriate conversational distance with a patient: about 2 feet.

• Common barriers: language, hearing loss (especially in older adults), physical/mental disabilities, cultural differences/anxieties around healthcare.
• Ask about an interpreter when needed — don't guess.
• Talking with a deaf/hard-of-hearing patient: face them directly, keep eye contact, don't just get louder, don't stand too far away.

• Closed-ended = yes/no answers.
• Open-ended = invites detail. Examples: "What brings you in today?" / "Are you feeling any better since your last visit?"

1. Listen to their concern first
2. Ask them to lower their voice if needed
3. Give them a chance to calm down on their own
4. Never match their tone — yelling back never helps
5. Loop in your office manager/team if it escalates (you won't be left alone with an angry patient during training)

5 stages, from most basic to highest: physiological (food/water/oxygen/sleep) → safety/security → love/belonging → esteem → self-actualization. These are "deficit needs" — if one is missing, the person experiences it as a felt need.

Healthy (adaptive) coping skills: diet & exercise, journaling, adequate sleep, music, positive affirmations, boundaries, spirituality, humor.

Most medical terms = Prefix + Root/Base word + Suffix. Learn the pieces and you can decode almost any term.

• Midsagittal plane — splits body into right/left halves
• Frontal (coronal) plane — splits front/back
• Transverse plane — cuts across the body (what a CT scan images)

Cavities: Cranial (brain/spinal cord), Thoracic (heart, lungs — separated from abdomen by the diaphragm), Abdominal (intestines), Pelvic.

4 Quadrants: RUQ, LUQ, RLQ, LLQ

9 Regions: Epigastric (above stomach), Umbilical (belly button area), Hypogastric (below stomach), Right/Left Hypochondriac, Right/Left Lumbar, Right/Left Iliac (hip bone).

Atoms/molecules → Cells → Tissue → Organ → Organ system → Organism

Key cell parts to know: cytoplasm, nucleus, cell membrane (plus mitochondria = the cell's "energy factory").

(Some providers also track pain as an unofficial "5th vital sign," depending on the office.)

Other methods: Tympanic (ear), Temporal artery (forehead scanner).

Fever ranges: ~99.6–101°F is a low fever; over 106°F is considered fatal-range. Hypothermia generally starts around 94–96°F.

Pulse sites: Radial (wrist — most frequently used), Brachial (upper arm — used with BP), Carotid (neck), Femoral (groin), Popliteal (behind the knee), Dorsalis pedis (top of the foot).

1 inhale + 1 exhale = one respiration (don't count them separately).

Written as Systolic / Diastolic (e.g. 120/80). Taken at the brachial site with a stethoscope + cuff + sphygmomanometer, measured in mmHg.

• Hypotension (low BP): watch for readings around 90/60 or lower — risk of syncope (fainting).
• Pulse pressure = systolic minus diastolic (e.g. 120–80 = 40). Should be roughly a third of the systolic number; normal is generally 30–50.
• Pump the cuff to about 150–160 mmHg before releasing the valve to listen.

(Note: the very top tube and the very bottom tube in this sequence are outside an MA's scope of practice — you'll get more detail on this once you reach the phlebotomy unit.)

1. Right patient
2. Right medication
3. Right dose / amount
4. Right route
5. Right time / schedule
6. Right documentation
7. Right technique

Note: some facilities use 6, 8, 9, or even 10 "rights" — the core 7 above are the ones to know.

Memory trick: the lower the gauge number, the LARGER the needle — so IM (through a muscle) uses the lowest/biggest numbers, and ID (thin skin) uses the highest/smallest numbers.

• Bevel (the needle's opening) always faces UP — otherwise medication can leak out.
• Intradermal — do NOT fully insert the needle.
• Subcutaneous & Intramuscular — needle MUST be fully inserted, or medication can leak/not deliver correctly.

1. Clean the rubber stopper on the vial with an alcohol pad, and clean the patient's injection site — let both fully air-dry (skipping this can cause stinging)
2. Push a small amount of air into the vial (creates a vacuum effect so it draws smoothly)
3. Flip the vial up, draw your dose
4. Flip down, remove the needle from the vial
5. Never point the needle near your eyes at any point
6. Engage the safety device (if present) before disposal