Clinical Competencies
The following competencies must be successfully demonstrated by certified medical assistant student to their preceptor to be eligible to sit for the CMA examination:
Clinical Patient Care
Patient Intake and Vitals
- Ensure patient safety within the clinical setting
- Identify patient.
- Complete a comprehensive clinical intake process, including the purpose of the visit.
- Measure and obtain vital signs.
- Convert measurements of vital signs.
- Obtain anthropometric measurements.
- Identify, document, and report abnormal signs and symptoms.
General Patient Care
- Prepare examination/procedure room
- Prepare and maintain a sterile field.
- Prepare patient for procedures, including providing education.
- Assist provider with general and specialty physical examination.
- Prepare and administer medications and/or injectables using non-parenteral routes.
- Prepare and administer medications and/or injectables using parenteral routes (excluding intravenous).
- Manage injection logs (for example, controlled substances, tuberculosis medications, immunizations).
- Perform staple and suture removal.
- Perform ear and eye irrigation.
- Administer first aid and basic wound care.
- Identify and respond to emergency/priority situations.
- Assist provider with patients presenting with minor and traumatic injury.
- Assist with surgical interventions (for example, sebaceous cyst removal, toenail removal, colposcopy, cryosurgery).
- Review provider’s discharge instructions/plan of care with patients.
- Follow guidelines for sending orders for prescriptions and refills electronically, by telephone, fax, or email.
- Order and obtain durable medical equipment (DME) and supplies (e.g., CPAP, wheelchair, hospital bed).
- Document relevant aspects of patient care in patient record.
- Operate basic functions of an electronic medical record/electronic health record (EMR/EHR) system.
- Implement updates in EMR/EHR (e.g., quality measures, alerts, telemedicine, population health reporting).
- Enter orders using computerized physician order entry.
- Conduct telehealth or virtual screenings in the context of a telehealth/virtual visit.
Infection Control and Safety
- Adhere to standard and universal precautions and guidelines related to infection control.
- Adhere to regulations and guidelines related to infectious diseases.
- Follow guidelines related to use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Adhere to guidelines regarding hand hygiene.
- Perform disinfection/sanitization
- Perform sterilization of medical equipment
- Perform appropriate aseptic techniques for various clinical situations.
- Dispose of biohazardous materials as dictated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (e.g., sharps containers, biohazard bags).
- Follow post-exposure guidelines (e.g., needle safety guidelines, use of eyewash stations).
Point of Care Testing and Laboratory Procedures
- Collect nonblood specimens (e.g., urine, stool, cultures, sputum).
- Perform CLIA-waived testing.
- Recognize, document, and report in-range and out-of-range laboratory and test values.
- Match and label specimen to patient and completed requisition
- Process, handle, and transport collected specimens
- Perform vision and hearing tests
- Perform allergy testing.
- Perform spirometry/pulmonary function tests (electronic or manual).
- Identify common testing errors leading to testing discrepancies or inaccurate results.
Phlebotomy
- Prepare patient for procedure
- Verify order details.
- Select appropriate supplies for test(s) ordered (e.g., needle sizes, tubes).
- Determine venipuncture site accessibility based on patient age and condition.
- Prepare site for venipuncture.
- Determine order of draw
- Perform venipuncture.
- Perform capillary puncture
- Perform postprocedural care.
- Handle blood samples as required for diagnostic purposes.
- Process blood specimens for laboratory.
- Match and label specimen to patient and completed requisition
- Recognize and respond appropriately to out-of-range test results.
- Prepare samples for transportation to a reference (outside) laboratory.
- Follow guidelines in distributing laboratory results to providers after matching patient to provider.
EKG and Cardiovascular Testing
- Prepare patient for EKG or ambulatory cardiac monitoring procedure.
- Identify types of leads and proper anatomical electrode placement.
- Perform EKG tests.
- Recognize abnormal or emergent EKG results (e.g., dysrhythmia, arrhythmia, versus artifact).
- Assist provider with ambulatory cardiac monitoring (e.g., stress test, Holter monitoring, event monitoring).
- Transmit results or report to patient’s electronic medical record or paper chart and provider
- Ensure proper functioning and storage of EKG equipment.
Patient Care and Coordination and Education
- Review patient records prior to visit to ensure health care is comprehensively addressed.
- Ensure that documentation of preventative maintenance and screenings is included in patient record.
- Identify timelines and track recommendations for screenings and preventative maintenance (e.g., mammogram, Papanicolaou (Pap) test, colonoscopy, immunizations).
- Assist provider with researching and supplying information on community resources for clinical and non-clinical services.
- Coordinate with health care providers and community-based organizations for continuity of care.
- Facilitate patient compliance (e.g., continuity of care, follow up, medication compliance) to optimize health outcomes.
- Participant in team-based patient care (e.g., patient-centered medical home [PCMH], accountable care organization [ACO].
- Participate in transition of care for patients
- Provide patient education via telehealth/virtual visit systems and processes.
- Provide education to patients on communicable disease prevention.
Communication and Customer Service
- Recognize the diversity of patient cultures and backgrounds when providing care
- Recognize stereotypes and biases and interact appropriately with patients, colleagues, and others
- Modify verbal and nonverbal communication for diverse audiences (e.g., providers, coworkers, supervisors, patients and caregivers, external providers).
- Modify verbal and nonverbal communications with patients and caregivers based on special considerations (e.g., pediatric, geriatric, hearing, vision, or cognitive impairment)
- Modify communications based on type of visit (e.g., in-person, telehealth/virtual visits).
- Clarify and relay communications between patients and providers
- Communicate on the telephone with patients and caregivers, providers, third-party payers using HIPAA guidelines.
- Prepare written/electronic communications/business correspondence
- Handle challenging/difficult customer service occurrences
- Utilize conflict management and complaint resolution to improve patient satisfaction
- Engage in crucial conversations with patients and caregivers/health care surrogates, staff, and providers.
- Facilitate teamwork and team engagement.
- Demonstrate professionalism (e.g., appropriate demeanor, clothing language, tone).
Medical Law and Ethics
- Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
- Obtain patient consent as needed.
- Adhere to professional codes of ethics
- Obtain, review, and comply with medical directives (e.g., advance directives, living will, health care proxy, medical order for life sustaining treatment).
- Protect patient privacy and confidentiality, including medical records
- Adhere to legal requirements regarding reportable violations or incidents
- Identify personal or religious beliefs and values and provide unbiased care.
Clinical Supervision
The Certified Medical Assistants at the clinical affiliates will act as the students' immediate supervisors. Any problems with the clinical schedule should be discussed with the Dean or Clinical Coordinator of Health Sciences. The MCHP Healthcare Science (HCS) Preceptorship course instructor/Clinical Coordinator, and Dean are available as resources or in the event of a problem in the clinical area.
The Certified Medical Assistants at the clinical affiliates will act as the students' immediate supervisors. Any problems with the clinical schedule should be discussed with the MCHP HCS Preceptorship course instructor/Clinical Coordinator or Dean overseeing the clinical preceptorship for the students. The MCHP HCS Preceptorship instructor/Clinical Coordinator, and Dean are available as resources and are available in the event of a problem in the clinical area. All tasks and tests results must be approved by the Certified Medical Assistant before the patient leaves the clinical setting. The AHS and Pre-DMS Medical Assistant student must be under direct supervision by the Certified Medical Assistant as described below. The Clinical Medical Assistant may take over the procedures at any point if they think it is in the best interest of the patient.
Direct supervision: A Certified Medical Assistant must be able to observe the student at all times and assist or intercede immediately if, in their opinion, the procedures being performed are being improperly conducted or the continuation of the procedure(s) will be potentially harmful to the patient or student. The Certified Medical Assistant must:
- Review the procedure in relation to the student's achievement
- Evaluate the condition of the patient in relation to the student's knowledge
- Be physically present during the performance of the procedure, and
- Review and approve the procedure and/or test.