MDCA 1260 - Clinical-Medical/Clinical Assistant Course Syllabus

MDCA 1260:

Description
A health-related work-based learning experience that enables the student to apply specialized occupational theory, skills, and concepts.

Prerequisites

Semester Offered
Fall and Spring semesters
Credits 2 Lecture Hours 0 Lab Hours 7
Extended Hours
0
Contact Hours
112
State Approval Code
CIP 51.0801
Instructor Name
Jeffry Oney, BAAS, CMA, CCMA, NCMA
Semester/Year
Fall 2024
Meeting Time and Location
Tuesday and Thursdays at Various Clinical Sites
Alternate Operations During Campus Closure

In the event of an emergency or announced campus closure due to a natural disaster or pandemic, it may be necessary for Panola College to move to altered operations. During this time, Panola College may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include, but are not limited to: online learning management system (CANVAS), online conferencing, email messaging, and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor Panola College's website (www.panola.edu) for instructions about continuing courses remotely, CANVAS for each class for course-specific communication, and Panola College email for important general information.

Student Basic Needs

Unexpected circumstances may arise, but Panola College offers various resources to support students. If you need mental health services or are facing challenges with transportation, affording class materials and supplies, or accessing food regularly—issues that may impact your class performance—please visit panola.edu/resources.

Class Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance of classes and laboratories is required of all students. When a student has been ill or absent from class for approved extracurricular activities, he or she should be allowed, as far as possible, to make up for the missed work. If a student has not actively participated by the census date, they will be dropped by the instructor for non-attendance. This policy applies to courses that are in-person, online, hybrid, and hyflex.

Attendance in online courses is determined by submission of an assignment or participation in an activity. According to federal guidelines, simply logging into a distance learning course without participating in an academic assignment does not constitute attendance. Distance learning is defined as when a majority (more than 50%) of instruction occurs when the instructor and students are in separate physical locations. Students must engage in an academic activity prior to the course census date. 

When an instructor feels that a student has been absent to such a degree as to invalidate the learning experience, the instructor may recommend to the Vice President of Instruction that the student be withdrawn from the course. Instructors may seek to withdraw students for non-attendance after they have accumulated the following number of absences: 

Fall or spring semesters: 

3 or more class meeting times per week - 5 absences

2 class meeting times per week - 3 absences

1 class meeting per week -  2 absences

The student is responsible for seeing that he or she has been officially withdrawn from a class. A student who stops attendance in a class without officially withdrawing from that class will be given a failing grade; consequently, the student must follow official withdrawal procedures in the Admissions/Records Office.

Please note: Health Science and Cosmetology courses may require more stringent attendance policies based on their accreditation agencies. Please see the addendum and/or program handbook for further information concerning attendance.  

Pregnant/Parenting Policy

Panola College welcomes pregnant and parenting students as a part of the student body. This institution is committed to providing support and adaptations for a successful educational experience for pregnant and parenting students. Students experiencing a need for accommodations related to pregnancy or parenting will find a Pregnancy and Parenting Accommodations Request form in the Student Handbook or may request the form from the course instructor.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Course Policy

Use of generated AI Permitted under some classroom circumstances with permission.

There are situations throughout the course where you may be asked to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to explore how they can be used. Outside of those circumstances, you should not use AI tools to generate content that will end up in any student work (assignments, activities, discussion responses, etc.). In such cases for Option #2, no more than 25% of the student work should be generated by AI. Use of any AI-generated content in this course without the instructor’s consent qualifies as academic dishonesty and violates Panola College’s standards of academic integrity.

Instructional Goals and Purposes

A health-related work-based learning experience that enables the student to apply specialized occupational theory, skills, and concepts. Direct supervision is provided by the clinical professional.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Apply the theory, concepts, and skills involving specialized materials, tools, equipment have procedures, regulations, laws, and interactions within and among political, economic have environmental, social and legal systems associated with the occupation and the business/industry.
  2. Demonstrate legal and ethical behavior, safety practices, interpersonal and teamwork skills, and appropriate written and verbal communication skills using the terminology of the occupation and the business/industry.
Specific Course Objectives (includes SCANS)

After studying all materials and resources presented in the course, the student will be able to:

SCANS CRITERIA

  1. Foundation skills are defined in three areas: basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities.
    1. Basic Skills: A worker must read, write, perform arithmetic and mathematical operations, listen, and speak effectively. These skills include:
      1. Reading: locate, understand, and interpret written information in prose and in documents such as manuals, graphs, and schedules.
      2. Writing: communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing, and create documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs, and flow charts.
      3. Arithmetic and Mathematical Operations: perform basic computations and approach practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical techniques.
      4. Listening: receive, attend to, interpret, and respond to verbal messages and other cues.
      5. Speaking: Organize ideas and communicate orally.
    2. Thinking Skills: A worker must think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize, know how to learn, and reason effectively. These skills include:
      1. Creative Thinking: generate new ideas.
      2. Decision Making: specify goals and constraints, generate alternatives, consider risks, and evaluate and choose the best alternative.
      3. Problem Solving: recognize problems and devise and implement plan of action.
      4. Visualize ("Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye"): organize and process symbols, pictures, graphs, objects, and other information.
      5. Knowing How to Learn: use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills.
      6. Reasoning: discover a rule or principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and apply it when solving a problem.
    3. Personal Qualities: A worker must display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, integrity, and honesty.
      1. Responsibility: exert a high level of effort and persevere toward goal attainment.
      2. Self-Esteem: believe in one's own self-worth and maintain a positive view of oneself.
      3. Sociability: demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in group settings.
      4. Self-Management: assess oneself accurately, set personal goals, monitor progress, and exhibit self-control.
      5. Integrity and Honesty: choose ethical courses of action.
  2. Workplace competencies are defined in five areas: resources, interpersonal skills, information, systems, and technology.
    1. Resources: A worker must identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources effectively.
      1. Time: select goal-relevant activities, rank them, allocate time, and prepare and follow schedules.
      2. Money: Use or prepare budgets, make forecasts, keep records, and make adjustments to meet objectives.
      3. Material and Facilities: Acquire, store, allocate, and use materials or space efficiently.
        Examples: construct a decision time line chart; use computer software to plan a project; prepare a budget; conduct a cost/benefits analysis; design an RFP process; write a job description; develop a staffing plan.
    2. Interpersonal Skills: A worker must work with others effectively.
      1. Participate as a Member of a Team: contribute to group effort.
      2. Teach Others New Skills.
      3. Serve Clients/Customers: work to satisfy customer's expectations.
      4. Exercise Leadership: communicate ideas to justify position, persuade and convince others, responsibly challenge existing procedures and policies.
      5. Negotiate: work toward agreements involving exchange of resources, resolve divergent interests.
      6. Work with Diversity: work well with men and women from diverse backgrounds.
        Examples: collaborate with a group member to solve a problem; work through a group conflict situation, train a colleague; deal with a dissatisfied customer in person; select and use appropriate leadership styles; use effective delegation techniques; conduct an individual or team negotiation; demonstrate an understanding of how people from different cultural backgrounds might behave in various situations.
    3. Information: A worker must be able to acquire and use information.
      1. Acquire and Evaluate Information.
      2. Organize and Maintain Information.
      3. Interpret and Communicate Information.
      4. Use Computers to Process Information.
        Examples: research and collect data from various sources; develop a form to collect data; develop an inventory record-keeping system; produce a report using graphics; make an oral presentation using various media; use on-line computer data bases to research a report; use a computer spreadsheet to develop a budget.
    4. Systems: A worker must understand complex interrelationships.
      1. Understand Systems: know how social, organizational, and technological systems work and operate effectively with them.
      2. Monitor and Correct Performance: distinguish trends, predict impacts on system operations, diagnose deviations in systems' performance and correct malfunctions.
      3. Improve or Design Systems: suggest modifications to existing systems and develop new or alternative systems to improve performance.
        Examples: draw and interpret an organizational chart; develop a monitoring process; choose a situation needing improvement, break it down, examine it, propose an improvement, and implement it.
    5. Technology: A worker must be able to work with a variety of technologies.
      1. Select Technology: choose procedures, tools or equipment including computers and related technologies.
      2. Apply Technologies to Task: understand overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment.
      3. Maintain and Troubleshoot Equipment: Prevent, identify, or solve problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies.
        Examples: read equipment descriptions and technical specifications to select equipment to meet needs; set up and assemble appropriate equipment from instructions; read and follow directions for troubleshooting and repairing equipment.
Course Content

A general description of lecture/discussion topics included in this course are listed in the Learning Outcomes / Specific Course Objectives sections of this syllabus.

Students in all sections of this course will learn the following content:

  1. Perform the skills listed on the competency evaluation with a minimum of 70% at a satisfactory level (SCANS II ciii, II civ, II eii)

COMPETENCIES

Performance Objectives/Competencies Evaluation:

  1. *Attends all assigned clinical hours (shows up on time and reports to preceptor before leaving)
  2. Appears in professional attire at all times
  3. *Behaves in a professional manner at all times (verbal and non-verbal)
  4. Accepts supervision and works effectively with staff
  5. Contributes to a positive work environment
  6. *Recognizes and Responds to Verbal Communications
  7. *Performs Within Ethical Boundaries
  8. *Performs Within Legal Boundaries
  9. Demonstrates Knowledge of Federal and State Health Care Legislation and Regulations
  10. Utilizes Computer Software to Maintain Office Systems
  11. Demonstrates Telephone Techniques: Answer the Telephone and take a message
  12. Schedule and Manage Appointments
  13. Schedule and Manage Appointments: New Patients
  14. *Establish and Maintain the Medical Record: Organize a Patient’s Medical Record
  15. Establish and Maintain the Medical Record: Register a New Patient
  16. Explain General Office Policies
  17. Instruct Individuals According to Their Needs
  18. Perform an Inventory of Supplies and Equipment
  19. Locate Resources and Information for Patients and Employers
  20. Identify Community Resources
  21. Respond to and Initiate Written Communications: Process Incoming Mail
  22. Establish and Maintain the Medical Record: Prepare an Informed Consent for Treatment Form
  23. Establish and Maintain the Medical Record: Add Supplementary Items to Established Patient Records
  24. Establish and Maintain the Medical Record: Prepare a Record Release Form
  25. *Document Appropriately and Accurately
  26. Identify and Respond to Issues of Confidentiality
  27. Explain General Office Policies: Explain Professional Fees
  28. Post Entries on a Day sheet
  29. Post Adjustments
  30. Process a Credit Balance
  31. Process Refunds
  32. Observe Accounts Receivable Procedures
  33. Observe Billing Procedures
  34. Observe Collection Procedures
  35. Observe Collection Agency Payments
  36. Observe Writing Checks in Payment of Bills
  37. Observe Preparing a Bank Deposit
  38. Observe Accounting for Petty Cash

* Students who do not pass basic core objectives with satisfactory will not pass the course.

  • Clinical Site = 64 hours
  • NHA Online Study Guide = 9hrs/10mins
  • NHA PersonAbility Online Course = 17 hours
  • Practice Exams (6 total) = 10hrs/30mins (each exam 1hr/30mins)
  • CMAA Exam = 2hrs/10mins
Methods of Instruction/Course Format/Delivery

This course is offered in an ambulatory/clinic setting with an assigned preceptor to further aid the student in learning and applying administrative skills.

Students will enroll in the NHA CMAA Study Guide 3.0 and complete all assigned modules for a grade. Upon completion of assigned modules students will begin taking a total of 6 practice exams. After completion of the practice exams the student will register and take the CMAA Exam for certification. Registration for the CMAA exam will be done through the NHA certification agency.

Students will enroll in the NHA PersonAbility Online course and complete the assigned skills for a grade.

Students will follow the rules/guidelines/procedures of the assigned clinical site in addition to the Pathfinder Student Handbook at Panola College.

Students should use the Email within Canvas to communicate with the instructor. Using Canvas email gives you access to the instructor and other classmates without having to remember or type email addresses - you must select a name from the list. If you are not able to contact me using email in Canvas, you may use my Panola College email address, contact me by telephone, or stop by my office. I attempt to respond to all email within 24 hours. Please always include a subject line and your name in your email.

Course Grade

The grading scale for this course is as follows:

  • Simulated or actual skills performed in clinical rotation – 70%
  • Professionalism -- 10%
  • PersonAbility – 5%
  • CMAA Study Guide – 5%
  • CMAA Practice Exams – 10%
  • CMAA Certification Exam registration required to pass this course

Major Assignments/Assessments

The following items are assigned and assessed during the semester and used to calculate the student's final grade.

Assignments

  • Clinical Site = 64 hours
  • NHA Online Study Guide = 9hrs/10mins
  • NHA PersonAbility Online Course = 17 hours
  • Practice Exams (6 total) = 10hrs/30mins (each exam 1hr/30mins)
  • CMAA Exam = 2hrs/10mins

Assessments

  • Clinical Site Evaluation
  • NHA Practice Exams
  • CMAA Exam
Texts Materials, and Supplies

NHA Online Study Guide and Practice Exams

Other
SCANS Criteria
  1. Foundation skills are defined in three areas: basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities.
    1. Basic Skills: A worker must read, write, perform arithmetic and mathematical operations, listen, and speak effectively. These skills include:
      1. Reading: locate, understand, and interpret written information in prose and in documents such as manuals, graphs, and schedules.
      2. Writing: communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing, and create documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs, and flow charts. 
      3. Arithmetic and Mathematical Operations: perform basic computations and approach practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical techniques.
      4. Listening: receive, attend to, interpret, and respond to verbal messages and other cues.
      5. Speaking: Organize ideas and communicate orally.
    2. Thinking Skills: A worker must think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize, know how to learn, and reason effectively. These skills include:
      1. Creative Thinking: generate new ideas.
      2. Decision Making: specify goals and constraints, generate alternatives, consider risks, and evaluate and choose the best alternative.
      3. Problem Solving: recognize problems and devise and implement plan of action.
      4. Visualize ("Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye"): organize and process symbols, pictures, graphs, objects, and other information.
      5. Knowing How to Learn: use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills.
      6. Reasoning: discover a rule or principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and apply it when solving a problem.
    3. Personal Qualities: A worker must display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self management, integrity, and honesty.
      1. Responsibility: exert a high level of effort and persevere toward goal attainment.
      2. Self-Esteem: believe in one's own self-worth and maintain a positive view of oneself.
      3. Sociability: demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in group settings.
      4. Self-Management: assess oneself accurately, set personal goals, monitor progress, and exhibit self-control.
      5. Integrity and Honesty: choose ethical courses of action.
  2. Workplace competencies are defined in five areas: resources, interpersonal skills, information, systems, and technology.
    1. Resources: A worker must identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources effectively.
      1. Time: select goal-relevant activities, rank them, allocate time, and prepare and follow schedules.
      2. Money: Use or prepare budgets, make forecasts, keep records, and make adjustments to meet objectives.
      3. Material and Facilities: Acquire, store, allocate, and use materials or space efficiently. Examples: construct a decision timeline chart; use computer software to plan a project; prepare a budget; conduct a cost/benefits analysis; design an RFP process; write a job description; develop a staffing plan.
    2. Interpersonal Skills: A worker must work with others effectively.
      1. Participate as a Member of a Team: contribute to group effort.
      2. Teach Others New Skills.
      3. Serve Clients/Customers: work to satisfy customer's expectations.
      4. Exercise Leadership: communicate ideas to justify position, persuade and convince others, responsibly challenge existing procedures and policies.
      5. Negotiate: work toward agreements involving exchange of resources, resolve divergent interests.
      6. Work with Diversity: work well with men and women from diverse backgrounds. Examples: collaborate with a group member to solve a problem; work through a group conflict situation, train a colleague; deal with a dissatisfied customer in person; select and use appropriate leadership styles; use effective delegation techniques; conduct an individual or team negotiation; demonstrate an understanding of how people from different cultural backgrounds might behave in various situations.
    3. Information: A worker must be able to acquire and use information.
      1. Acquire and Evaluate Information.
      2. Organize and Maintain Information.
      3. Interpret and Communicate Information.
      4. Use Computers to Process Information. Examples: research and collect data from various sources; develop a form to collect data; develop an inventory record-keeping system; produce a report using graphics; make an oral presentation using various media; use on-line computer databases to research a report; use a computer spreadsheet to develop a budget.
    4. Systems: A worker must understand complex interrelationships.
      1. Understand Systems: know how social, organizational, and technological systems work and operate effectively with them.
      2. Monitor and Correct Performance: distinguish trends, predict impacts on system operations, diagnose deviations in systems' performance and correct malfunctions.
      3. Improve or Design Systems: suggest modifications to existing systems and develop new or alternative systems to improve performance. Examples: draw and interpret an organizational chart; develop a monitoring process; choose a situation needing improvement, break it down, examine it, propose an improvement, and implement it.
    5. Technology: A worker must be able to work with a variety of technologies.
      1. Select Technology: choose procedures, tools or equipment including computers and related technologies.
      2. Apply Technologies to Task: understand overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment.
      3. Maintain and Troubleshoot Equipment: Prevent, identify, or solve problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies. Examples: read equipment descriptions and technical specifications to select equipment to meet needs; set up and assemble appropriate equipment from instructions; read and follow directions for troubleshooting and repairing equipment.