1. Professional Behavior in the Workplace
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Professional Behavior in the Workplace

2. Questions to consider…
How do professional medical assistants put aside personal issues and devote themselves to the patients in the office? How can Karen meet her familial and work obligations equally well? What steps should Karen take to ensure that both her family and her supervisors understand her obligations to the other? How can Karen exhibit professional behavior and compassion for patients on a daily basis at the physician’s office?
Discuss the questions with the students and encourage class participation.

3. Meaning of Professionalism
Professionalism is exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace. It is characterized by or conforms to the technical or ethical standards of a certain profession.
Why is professionalism important?
Patients expect medical personnel to be professional.
Patients place their trust and confidence in those they deem to be professional.
Attitudes are conservative in the medical field, mandating professionalism.
Discuss the concept of professionalism, the characteristics of professionalism, as well as obstructions to professionalism. Discuss the meaning of being conservative in dress and attitude in the physician’s office. Because there are so many types of patients that visit the physician’s office, the medical assistant must provide the air of professionalism toward each one. Manners are extremely important, and the medical assistant must be cordial and polite to every visitor at the office. Never give the patient a reason to distrust or lose confidence in the medical assistant.

4. Work Ethics
Work ethics are set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence, involving a whole range of activities, from individual acts to the philosophy of the entire facility.
The medical assistant should always take initiative and be reliable.
Probationary periods allow the employer to determine the medical assistant’s work ethic.
A person with a good work ethic:
arrives on-time
is rarely absent
has a strong work output
is honest
is able to solve ethical problems
has a character that is above reproach
Stress the concept of a strong work ethic to the students. Medical assistants must not feel that they are underpaid or forced to perform duties that are unfairly distributed. Remember, the medical assistant accepts the final job offer, and if it is not satisfactory, then the medical assistant is often at fault for accepting a position for which he or she was not suited or in which he or she did not have a legitimate interest. Explain realistic beginning salaries and the average salaries a new medical assistant should expect.

5. Characteristics of Professionalism
Loyalty – faithfulness or allegiance to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product
Dependability – be responsible for being part of the team and job tasks
Courtesy – kind words and compassion
Initiative – look for opportunities to be of help, completing tasks without being asked
Flexibility – able to adapt to a wide variety of situations
Credibility – perceived competence or character of a person; trustworthy
Confidentiality – ability to ensure patient privacy
Attitude – a good attitude is courtesy and kindness to others; being optimistic and calmly reacting in all situations, including negative people
Ask students to discuss the ways that a medical assistant can display each of these characteristics in the workplace.

6. Obstructions to Professionalism
Sometimes it is difficult to be professional. Obstructions to professionalism include:
Personal Problems and Baggage
Rumors and “the Grapevine”
Personal Phone Calls and Business
Office Politics
Medical assistants must avoid bringing personal problems to work with them. These issues take the focus off of the patient. The most important priority in the physician’s office is to care for the patient, and personal problems can interfere with that goal.

7. Personal Problems and Baggage
Situations medical assistants face outside of work may be difficult to leave at home. These situations can interfere with the ability to perform at work. Take a moment to discuss the situation with supervisors. Use discretion when talking about the issues at hand. Most supervisors will want to work with good employees through difficult times
Discuss ways to put personal issues aside during the work day. Talk about whether better planning and goal-setting would help the medical assistant to avoid surprising situations.

8. Rumors and the “Grapevine”
Rumors and gossip must be avoided in a professional medical facility. These issues cause negative employee morale. Rumors often become more exaggerated with each telling. Medical assistants must be friendly and cordial to everyone. Never take part in rumor-mongering or gossip in the office.
Discuss other issues that contribute to poor employee morale, and then ways to improve employee morale. Talk about how to deal with other employees who constantly engage in rumor-mongering and gossip.

9. Personal Phone Calls and Business
Avoid receiving personal calls at work unless a serious emergency occurs. This rule includes both the office phone and personal cell phones. Do not conduct any type of personal business during working hours. Use personal time to check personal . The physician has the right to expect the medical assistant to work consistently during the entire day.
Talk about the physician’s time and the importance of giving the physician a full days’ work. Explain that every minute spent doing personal things is a minute that should be deducted from the employee’s pay check.

10. Office Politics
Office politics can be positive or negative. Positive office politics can lead to promotions and wage increases. Negative office politics can lead to dissention and low employee morale. Although office politics are found at virtually every office, they are not always negative. Remember that teamwork and professionalism will help the medical assistant to stay positive even when negativity is present in the physician’s office. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

11. Professional Attributes
Professional attributes include:
Teamwork
Time Management
Prioritizing
Goal Setting
Discuss ways to promote teamwork and how to work with a person who is less than cordial. Talk about ways to win over a co-worker with whom there has been a disagreement. Time management skills are valuable in the physician’s office, especially during extremely busy days. Demonstrate goal setting and time management and then allow students to do personal goal setting and time management exercises.

12. Teamwork
Possibly one of the most important attributes to develop. Staff members must work together for the good of the patients. Cooperate with co-workers. Teamwork promotes good employee morale. Never say, “That’s not my job.”
Encourage the students to perform an honest self-examination and consider their desire to work with patients. There should never be a time that the medical assistant refuses to perform a duty that he or she is asked to do. Stress that the patients’ needs must always be the medical assistant’s first priority. Discuss the value of periodic meetings and how they can raise or lower employee morale.

13. Time Management
Use time efficiently. Plan tasks that must be done. Key to time management is prioritizing.
Discuss events that might happen during the course of a workday in a physician’s office. Talk about how the tasks might be completed in the most time-efficient manner.

14. Prioritizing
Prioritizing is deciding which tasks to do first. Make a list of tasks. Decide what must, should, and could be done today. Place each task in numeric order within the “must,” “should,” and “could” categories. Assign letters and numbers to categorize tasks. Complete the tasks in order, and accomplish more every day.
Continue the discussion about the tasks that might be completed in a typical day at the physician’s office. Prioritize the mock list into “must’, “should”, and “could” categories. Number the tasks in a logical completion order. Discuss how each medical assistant might prioritize tasks differently.

15. Goal Setting Goals should be: Reasonable Measurable Written down
Monitored for progress
Set for all areas of an individual’s life
Celebrated when reached, even if it is a small accomplishment
Discuss the definition of a reasonable and measurable goal. Talk about how goals are monitored.

16. Knowing the Facility and Its Employees
It is important to know the people who work in the medical facility and their general job descriptions, so that patients can be referred to the person who knows the most about their problems. It is very important to express appreciation to others whenever possible.
Determine how the medical assistant might research the employees and their job responsibilities at the workplace. Instruct them on keeping notes or a reference list to use when assisting patients or seeking answers or help from other departments.

17. Documentation When documenting medical information: write legibly
be complete
state facts, not opinions
state what was actually witnessed, not hearsay or information from a third party
never use sarcastic language
make corrections as directed
If an event is not charted, it did not happen. Chart only what you witness. For example, if a person fell from an examination table, but the medical assistant did not witness the fall, then he or she can only chart the condition in which the patient was found (e.g., on the floor) and what the patient says happened (e.g., “I fell off the table”).

18. Note Taking
Always have pen and paper ready for note taking in meetings and seminars. Keep a small pad and pen in a pocket for quick notes. The pad kept in the pocket is useful for jotting down physician orders, such as the dosage of an injection that needs to be given to a patient. Numerous other bits of information can be placed in the notebook, which will help the medical assistant to remember orders as well as events that need to be charted in the medical record.

19. Interpersonal Skills
The success of any business is related to its ability to communicate effectively. Medical assistants must continually work to improve their communications skills. Look for continuing education opportunities in the communications realm.
Use role play to practice communications skills throughout the course of training.

20. Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is the repeated and excessive use of a substance to produce pleasure and escape reality, despite its destructive effects.
Substance abuse is a huge concern in the medical community.
A health professional who has a substance abuse problem can easily make life-threatening mistakes and ruin his or her career in an instant.
If one of these four criteria is met, the person in question is likely a substance abuser.
Continued use despite social or interpersonal problems
Repeated use resulting in failure to fulfill obligations at work, school, and/or home
Repeated use resulting in physically hazardous situations
Use resulting in legal problems

21. Substance Abuse
Understand the difference between use, dependence, abuse, and addiction. Use – taking a drug or supplement for a condition Dependence - A person is dependent on a drug if it must be used to provide a specific health benefit. Physical dependence is not always a sign of addiction. Abuse – the use of illegal drugs or the misuse of prescription and over-the- counter drugs. The abuse of prescription drugs is a growing concern in the United States. Some prescription drugs are highly addictive and result in a change to the user’s behavior. That change can be deadly in a medical environment.

22. Substance Abuse Abuse Criteria Tolerance for a drug
Withdrawal symptoms
Difficulty in controlling drug use
Negative consequences from drug use
Significant time or emotional energy spent seeking drugs
Neglecting regular activities
Desire to cut down on the use of a certain drug
Any person who experiences at least three of the seven drug abuse criteria in the same 12-month period could be considered an abuser and should seek drug counseling

23. Substance Abuse Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse
Understand the difference between use, dependence, abuse, and addiction.
Addiction – the compulsive use of a substance despite its negative and sometimes dangerous effects.
Always report suspected abuse to the physician.
Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse is a disease that involves the following four symptoms:
Craving – a strong urge or need to drink
Loss of control – not being able to stop drinking once it has begun
Physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms, such as shakiness, nausea, sweating, and anxiety occur after drinking
Tolerance – the need to increase the amount of alcohol taken in to get the same effect
“On any single occasion in the last 3 months, have you had more than five drinks containing alcohol?”

24. Substance Abuse CAGE Questionnaire
The CAGE Questionnaire helps to identify patients who may have an alcohol abuse problem.
C – Have you ever felt that you needed to cut down on your drinking?
A – Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
G – Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
E – Eye opener: Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?
Detecting abuse issues early leads to the initiation of treatment, and this can help a person avoid becoming an alcoholic.

25. Closing Comments
Patients expect and deserve professional behavior Show compassion, caring, and consideration to patients and visitors in the office Earn the respect of co-workers Become an indispensable team player in the medical office Trust helps to prevent medical liability cases

26. Summary of Scenario
Medical assistants are responsible for being team players Arrive on time and avoid being absent from work Put the patients first Do not allow personal problems to interfere with work Project a professional appearance Discuss problems with supervisors before they escalate and become out of control
Projecting professionalism is a critical skill for the medical assistant.