MED100 Week 3 Discussion Latest 2020 March

MED100 Medical Terminology, Law and Ethics

Week 3 Discussion

Medical Mystery Case 2

Learning Objectives Covered

LO 01.02 – Construct and define the word parts for various medical conditions or procedures

LO 02.01 – Explain the importance and proper use of medical terminology within medical documentation

Career Relevancy

Our body is a complex machine. Each system works independently and dependently with other systems. It is important to know the connections between systems to aid in favorable outcomes and patient health education. Having at least a base knowledge of common symptoms associated with specific diseases can help lead to proper testing and diagnosis. This is also true for recognizing some common medications associated with certain disease treatment protocols.

Background

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If you have ever been to see a doctor, you were probably asked a series of questions related to current symptoms, past symptoms and family history. The reason for this onslaught of questioning, is to show patterns of health for you and what you may be predisposed to based on genetics. Honesty and full disclosure will greatly aid in your healthcare.

Before we move on, watch this video on the important aspects of taking proper patient notes. This shows the appropriateness of documenting and the ‘why’ reasoning for full disclosure. Some of the tips in this video should aid you in patient medical documentation in course work, your externship, and your career.

How to Write Clinical Patient Notes: The Basics – (10:21 min) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxumhC3C1ss

As we have repeated, it is important to know a patient’s full medical history and any familial history that could be reflective of the patient’s complaints or patterns of health issues to gain a full picture. For example: hypertension (high blood pressure) is anything above the normal level of 120/80 mm Hg, and it can be indicative of a bigger issue with the cardiovascular system. Often, patients who have high blood pressure are prone to additional heart disease including blockages. This is only one example of the many potential outcomes you could encounter in your career.

Knowing the family history is equally as important. As we discussed, it can show whether or not your patient is showing those patterns of health that could lead to a familial diagnosis. Some common hereditary medical conditions (some of these have very specific types within the category) with medication categories (note: this is not an exhaustive list of medication possibilities and is included for recognition on patient charts) include:

diabetes (can be type 1 or type 2); insulin and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors

heart disease; Ace inhibitors and blood thinners

hypertension; Beta blockers and diuretics

cancers; chemotherapy and opiate pain relievers

arthritis; DMARDs and NSAIDs

Alzheimer’s; cholinesterase inhibitors

Manda, in the video below, is a CMA (certified medical assistant) and shares a good list of common drug categories and their abbreviations. Recognizing these common drug categories will help you determine correct drug usage and understand any potential drug interactions. You will learn pharmacology in greater detail in later courses, but this is a great start.

Medical Assistant – Pharmacology Abbreviations! – (13:53 min) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmPuo1jap64

As we learned in previous discussions, some symptoms that appear to affect one body system may mimic issues with other systems or lead to complications within other systems. Thorough testing to rule out and confirm suspicions is necessary for the physician to pin down exactly what IS happening with this patient. The patient needs to recognize the importance of following doctor’s orders to accurately take their medications, proper diet and exercise to help them avoid dire circumstances. Lifestyle changes are not easy for most people to implement. As the medical assistant, remember this when talking with your patient about the steps they should take for their health. It is helpful to have a brochure or print out of tips related to this patient’s specific needs for them to look back to when they need pointers or reminders. Any and all information that we can provide for the patient will decrease the chance of them Googling and finding misleading information about their health on the internet.

As with our patient in the case study below, CHF lifestyle changes are necessary for many of the patients that we will encounter. This video shares these changes with tips on how to educate your patient about these changes.

Patient Education: Lifestyle Changes for Congestive Heart Failure – (4:45 min) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Pj-669EhM

Consider these topics when reading the case study below. Put yourself in the situation and reflect on how you would handle this scenario as the medical assistant as you answer the prompt.

Prompt

For this discussion assignment, you will need to download and review the case study by clicking HEREPreview the document.

The case study discusses a patient who is treated with several medications. In your own words, why are these medications necessary to reduce blood pressure?  Why would it be important for you to recognize these medications?

Learning to recognize a diagnosis can help you in all areas of healthcare. Which field are you planning on entering for your externship and what terms do you feel will be most valuable to you?

Based on what you have learned, what ways do you feel would be the most effective in coaching your patient on healthy lifestyle changes to meet the needs of their diagnosis?

For your peer reply, consider how patient education can be misinterpreted. Can you coach all patients in the same manner?

For your citation, you might use articles that show examples of patient education tactics and how to use terms that are appropriate.

Your initial and reply posts should work to develop a group understanding of this topic. Challenge each other. Build on each other. Always be respectful but discuss this and figure it out together.

Reply Requirements

You must submit:

1 main post of 150+ words with 1 in-text citation and reference (follow the Institution Writing Guidelines)

2 follow-up posts (replies) of 50+ words

Responses can be addressed to both your initial thread and other threads but must be:

Your own words (no copy and paste)

Unique (no repeating something you already said)

Substantial in nature, which means there has to be some meat to the reply not something like: “Good job, Rasha, your post is excellent.” A substantial post will do one of the following:

Extend the conversation deeper,

Challenge the post being responded to, or

Take the conversation in a career-relevant tangent

Remember that part of the discussion grade is submitting on time and using proper grammar, spelling, etc. You’re training to be a professional—write like it.