Communication is one of the important aspects that every medical assistant should possess. Notably, the medical field embraces teamwork among various players thus making communication inherently vital. As a member of the medical fraternity, medical assistance is expected to communicate coherently to other members of the team. It is imperative to note that effective communication skills will not only help a medical assistance to efficiently execute his/her duties, but also aid the medical facility to enhance its clinical outcomes. While speaking and touching are fundamental communication skills for medical assistants, listening is the most important of them all. The core aim of the paper is to expound on why effective listening skills is an integral part of the medical assistants’ mandate.
Firstly, listening is plays a significant role in helping a medical assistant to help medical assistants to perform their assigned roles with less difficulty. The central role of medical assistants is to help the physician in carrying out various clinical duties. In many instances, medical assistants are expected to communicate with the public, especially patients who visit the medical facilities. In fact, patient- medical assistant communication is a fundamental aspect of clinical practice. In most cases, patients who are listened to by medical assistants feel well attended once they leave the premises of a health care facility. Also, patients whose case are given due attention by medical assistants feel appreciated and well attended to, a vital aspect that enhances their medical outcomes. To enhance the quality of health care and medical outcomes, communication between a medical assistant and a patient is vital (Stein-Parbury, 2013).
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However, the most important aspect of communication us a medical assistant to listen to the explanation that is given by a patient so that he/she can decide on the best type of treatment that can suit the patients’ condition. By listening to the patient, a medical assistant is not only able to detect the disease that the client is suffering from, but also help the patent to detect other difficulties that the patient may not be aware of. On top of that, listening to a patient explanation will help a medical assistant convey an accurate report to the physician so that the best method can be utilized to remedy the patient’s condition (Zavertnik, Huff & Munro, 2010).
In retrospect to that, medical assistants are involved in carrying out a variety of tasks such as recording patients’ medical history, filling insurance forms and deciding in how lab test samples will be carried out. In such situations, communication between a patient and a medical assistant is inevitable. Although a medical assistant is also expected to speak and interview a client, listening is important for him/her to record accurate data. In other instances, medical assistants are expected to execute telephone-related duties where they are expected to record some communications. As such, having effective listening skills will play a major part in helping a medical practitioner to efficiently carry out his/her duties (Seren & Ustun, 2008).
It is imperative to note that listening is also crucial, especially when medical assistants are tasked with the responsibility of treating patients. While carrying out such an important duty, medical assistants are expected to embrace patients through having a conversation with them. For instance, including a patient in the decision-making process will increase the chances of finding the best method of treatment that reduces the chances of medical negligence. In fact, the conversation between a patient and a medical assistant should embrace the primary caregiver or other family members of the ailing client. However, if the patient does not want any other person to take part in the conversation, then a medical assistant should be able to comprehend that by listening to the patient (McCabe & Timmins, 2013).
Poor communication between a medical practitioner and a patient had been cited as the main factor in many of the cases of medical negligence. Notably, a majority of the cases are as a result of patients’ cases not being listened to by medical practitioners, including medical assistants. While medical assistants give interview patients to ascertain the level of their problem, they rarely give them a chance to expound on their problems. The high number of patients who visit hospitals had been cited as the primary reason as to why patients cases are not adequately listened. In other cases, medical negligence has been caused by poor communication between medical assistants and doctors, especially when the former does not record accurate information about a patient (Edwards, 2011).
Besides dealing with patients, medical assistants are expected to collaborate with other employees in the health care sector so that they can work together and enhance health outcomes. Since they are junior members of the medical fraternity, they do not have specific tasks, and as such, they are expected to be assigned duties to help other medical practitioners, particularly doctors. As such, a majority of their roles are to take orders which they should perform to the expected standards. It is only through effective listening that a medical assistant can coherently follow the orders given so that he/she can effectively carry out the assigned roles to the expected levels (Edwards, 2011).
To sum up, it is vividly evident that listening is the most important communication skill that each and every medical assistant should have. While speaking and touching can help a medical assistant to perform his/her duties effectively, listening remains the most vital skill of them all. By having efficient listening skills, a medical assistant will not only effectively discharge his/her mandate, but also help a facility to enhance the quality of its services.
- Edwards, E. J. (2011). Use of listening skills when advising nursing students in clinical experiences. Journal of Nursing Education, 30(7), 328-329.
- McCabe, C., & Timmins, F. (2013). Communication skills for nursing practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Seren, S., & Ustun, B. (2008). Conflict resolution skills of nursing students in problem-based compared to conventional curricula. Nurse Education Today, 28(4), 393-400.
- Stein-Parbury, J. (2013). Patient and person: Interpersonal skills in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.
- Zavertnik, J. E., Huff, T. A., & Munro, C. L. (2010). Innovative approach to teaching communication skills to nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(2), 65-71.
