You are asked to perform a capillary puncture on a patient. During your first attempt, you notice that no blood is coming out.
- What are some techniques to increase blood flow to the finger?
- How would you respond to a patient that became nervous during the procedure?
1
Written Communication
Chapter 7
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2
Parts of Speech
Noun: person, place, or thing
Common noun: general group of people, places,
things, and ideas
Pronoun: word that takes place of a noun; not
capitalized
Verb: action word or state of being
Fragment: phrase without a main clause
Subject: noun, pronoun, or set of word that performs
the verb action
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3
Appropriate Use of Words
Refrain from using slang, generational terms, and
abbreviations used with electronic communication
Refrain from using two negatives in same sentence
Do not use vague expressions
Avoid using run-on sentences
Use proper spelling and sentence structure
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4
Capitalization
First letter of the first word in a sentence or question
should be capitalized
Pronoun “I” should be capitalized
First letter of proper nouns should be capitalized
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5
Punctuation
A sentence can end with a period, a question mark,
or an exclamation mark
All punctuation goes inside a closing quotation mark
Use commas and semicolons appropriately
A colon is used to introduce a series of times in the
sentence or bulleted list
Quotation marks are used to set off direct quotes
Perform a spelling/grammar check
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6
Writing Numbers
Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence
Hyphenate all compound numbers from 21 to 99
and all written-out fractions
For numbers with four or more digits, use commas
Do not use a decimal point or a dollar sign when
writing out sums less than a dollar
Format of a.m. and p.m. can vary
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7
Parts of a
Professional
Letter
Sender’s address
Date
Inside address
Reference line
Salutation
Subject line
Body of the letter
Closing
Signature block
End notations
Continuation
pages
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8
Business Letter Formats
Full block letter format
Modified block letter format
Semi-block letter format
Simplified letter format
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9
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10
Templates
Sample letter or email that can be personalized for
each patient
Some word processing and practice management
software programs have prebuilt letter templates
Can be used to save time for routine
communication
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11
Memorandums
Communication documents
shared within a healthcare
facility
Use portrait orientation, single
line spacing, and 1-inch
margin
Typically have four headings:
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
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12
Professional Emails
Follow email etiquette
Make sure to include a subject line
Start with a greeting
Be courteous and polite
Refrain from using all capital letters
Write out entire word; no abbreviations
Be concise, accurate, and clear
Use proper capitalization and sentence structure
Leave white space between salutation, paragraphs, and your
complete name
Always end with a “Thank you” or “Sincerely”
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13
Faxed Communication
Usage is decreasing
Must adhere to HIPAA and HITECH rules
Required face sheet that includes confidentiality
language
Should include instructions for recipient, as well as
contact information of sender and recipient, the date,
and the total number of pages
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14
Addressing Envelopes
Business letters should be enclosed
in standard #10 business-sized
envelopes
To ensure timely delivery:
Type envelope using simple black
font of at least 10-point size
Put one space between the city and
state and two spaces between state
and ZIP code
Use ZIP code + 4 code (e.g., 555551111) as often as possible
Use only approved U.S. Postal Service
abbreviations
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15
Folding Documents
#10 envelope
Fold letter by pulling up bottom end until it reaches just
below the inside address or two-thirds of the way up
the letter; crease at the told; fold top of letter down so
that it is flush with bottom fold and crease paper
#6½ envelope
Fold letter by pulling up bottom end until it is ½ inch
from top edge of document; crease at the fold; fold
document vertically starting at right edge
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Postage
Print postage labels on
www.USPS.com
Permit imprints
For bulk mailing
Precanceled stamps
Postage meter printing
16
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17
Private Delivery Services
Private companies have grown by offering
competitive rates and additional services
Examples:
FedEx
UPS
DHL
Larger cities have courier services that have
become popular options for local deliveries
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18
Incoming Mail
In large facilities, designated mailroom employees
handle incoming mail
In smaller facilities, medical assistant handles all
aspects of incoming mail
Mail can be collected at post office or be delivered
to the healthcare facility
The provider will have a procedure for handling the
mail while the provider is on vacation
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19
Closing Comments
Medical assistants should proofread all documents
carefully before printing/sending
Medical assistants should keep a copy of all
documents produced using word processing
All patient-related documents are confidential
Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Questions?
20
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INTRODUCTION TO
ANATOMY
AND MEDICAL
TERMINOLOGY
CHAPTER 18
DECODABLE
TERMS
• Combining form: Word root with its
respective combining vowel
• Word root: Foundation of medical term
• Combining vowel: A letter sometimes
used to join word parts (usually an “o”)
• Suffix: Word part that appears at end of
term
• Prefix: Word part that sometimes appears
at beginning of a term
NONDECODABLE TERMS
• Not all terms are composed of word parts that can be used to determine the
definition
• Examples:
– Cataract
– Asthma
– Diagnosis
– Prognosis
– Sequela
– Acute
– Chronic
– Sign
– Symptom
ABBREVIATIONS AND
SYMBOLS
• Abbreviations that have been shortened to letters or numbers for
sake of convenience
– IM: intramuscular
– AAMA: American Association of Medical Assistants
• Acronyms: abbreviations that are also pronounceable
– TURP: Transurethral resection of the prostate
• Symbols are graphic representations of a term, such as @ for at
CHECK, ASSIGN,
REVERSE,
AND DEFINE
(CARD) METHOD
• Check the word
parts in a term
• Assign meanings to
the word parts
• Reverse the meaning
of the suffix to the
front of your
definition
• Define the term
SPELLING RULES
• If suffix starts with a vowel, combining vowel is not needed to
join parts
• If suffix starts with a consonant, a combining vowel is needed
to join two parts
• If combining form ends with same vowel that begins a suffix,
one of the vowels is dropped
• If two or more combining forms are used in a term, combining
vowel is retained between the two
• Sometimes when two or more combining forms are used to
make a medical term, special notice must be paid to the order
in which the combining forms are joined
SUFFIXES
• Noun-ending suffixes
• Adjective suffixes
• Pathology suffixes
• Diagnostic procedure suffixes
• Therapeutic intervention suffixes
• Instrument suffixes
• Specialty and specialist suffixes
PREFIXES
• Modify a medical term by indicating a structure’s or a condition’s:
– Absence
– Location
– Number or quantity
– State
• Can have more than one meaning
SINGULAR/PLURAL RULES
• When singular form of a word ends with -a
– Keep the -a and add an -e
• When singular form of the word ends with -ax
– Drop the -x and add -ces
• When singular form of the word ends with -ex or -ix
– Drop the -ex or -ix and add -ices
• When singular form of word ends with -is
– Drop the -is and add -es
• When singular form of word ends with -us
– Drop the -us and add -i
• When singular form of the word ends with -um
– Drop the -um and add -a
• When singular form of word ends with -y
– Drop the -y and add -ies
COMMON COMBINING
FORMS
• Keep a list of common combining forms, prefixes, and suffixes nearby
so that you can refer to it as needed
STRUCTURAL
ORGANIZATION OF THE
BODY
(SLIDE 1 OF 2)
• Cells: Basic unit of life
• Tissues: Group of similar
cells from same source that
together carry out a
specific function
– Epithelial
– Connective
– Muscle
– Nervous
STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION
OF THE BODY
(SLIDE 2 OF 2)
• Organs: Structure composed of two or more types of tissue
• Body systems: Composed of several organs and their related
structures
• Organism: Made up of many body systems
SURFACE ANATOMY
TERMINOLOGY
• Use to describe locations on the body
• Anatomical position: Standard frame of reference
– Body stands erect with face forward, arms at sides, palms forward, and
toes pointed forward
POSITIONAL
AND
DIRECTIONAL
TERMINOLOGY
• Used to describe up/down, middle/side,
and front/back
• Midline of body is an imaginary line
drawn from crown of the head down
between the eyes, through the chest, and
separating the legs
BODY CAVITIES
• Hollowed areas that are filled with organs
• Dorsal body cavity: Protects nervous system organs
– Contains cranial cavity and spinal cavity
• Ventral body cavity: Divided into thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities
– Contains thoracic and abdominopelvic cavity
• Diaphragm: Creates a physical separation between the thoracic and
abdominopelvic cavities
ABDOMINOPELVIC
QUADRANTS AND
REGIONS
• Right upper quadrant
(RUQ)
• Left upper quadrant (LUQ)
• Right lower quadrant
(RLQ)
• Left lower quadrant (LLQ)
BODY PLANES
• Planes: Imaginary cuts or sections through body
• Plane terminology is common when discussing diagnostic imaging of body
• Midsagittal plane (median plane): Separates body into equal right and left
halves
• Coronal plane (front plane): Divides body into front and back portions
• Transverse plane (horizontal plane): Divides body horizontally into upper part
and lower part
• Oblique plane: Uses diagonal cut through body
ACID-BASE BALANCE
• pH: Acid-base level of solution on a scale of 1 to 14
– Neutral: 7
– Acidic: Less than 7
– Basic: More than 7
– Can change based on food we eat, air we breathe, and urine we excrete
• Respiratory system regulates the carbon dioxide in our blood
• Urinary system: Kidneys can absorb more base or more acid, depending
on body’s needs
PATHOLOGY BASICS
(SLIDE 1 OF 2)
• Disease: Specific illness with recognizable group of signs and symptoms with
clear cause
• Syndrome: Group of signs and symptoms that occur together; associated
with condition
• Disorder: Disruption of function/structure of body
• Prevalence: How often disease occurs
• Incidence: Reflects number of newly diagnosed people with disease
• Morbidity: Illness
• Mortality: Death
PATHOLOGY BASICS
(SLIDE 2 OF 2)
• Acute: A severe, sudden onset of disease
• Chronic: Disease, disorder, or syndrome that lasts longer than 6
months
• Etiology: Cause of disorder or disease
• Sign: Indicator that is measured/observed by others
• Symptom: Indicator that is only perceived by patient
• Diagnostic procedures: Used to help diagnose or monitor a condition
• Treatments: Management of disease
• Risk factors for disease
– Hereditary or genetic factors
PREDISPOSING
FACTORS
– Age
– Gender
– Environmental factors
– Lifestyle
CAUSES OF DISEASE
• Genetics
• Infectious pathogens
• Inflammatory response
• Immune disorders
– Allergies, autoimmunity, and immunodeficiency
• Nutritional imbalances
– Vitamin and mineral deficiencies, vitamin and mineral excesses, obesity,
starvation, trauma and environmental agents
NEOPLASMS
• Neoplasm: A mass that occurs when cells grow quicker than normal;
do not die as fast as they should
• Benign tumors: Noncancerous
• Malignant tumors: Cancerous
CLASSIFICATION
OF CANCER
• Carcinoma
– Squamous cell carcinoma
– Adenocarcinoma
• Sarcomas
• Lymphomas
– Hodgkin lymphoma
– Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Leukemia
• Myeloma
• Mixed tumors
GRADES AND STAGES OF
CANCER
• Grade: How abnormal the malignant cells look
– Well-differentiated (slow-growing)
– Undifferentiated or poorly differentiated
– Graded using 1, 2, 3, or 4 to indicate appearance
• Stage
– TNM staging system
• T: refers to state and extent of primary tumor
• N: refers to number of nearby lymph nodes impacted by malignant cells
• M: refers to whether the tumor has metastasized
– 0 to IV system
• Stages 0, I, II, III, and IV
– Defined by terms
LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES
AND PATIENT-CENTERED CARE
• Communication is key
• Use proper terminology, spelling, and pronunciation
• Be certain patients are clear on all instructions
• “Translate” medical terms into day-to-day language for patients
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