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Unit 2: The Therapeutic Approach
Unit Overview
Of all tasks and skills required of the medical assistant, none is quite as important as communication. Communication is
the foundation for every action taken by health care professionals in the care of their patients. Therapeutic
communication differs from normal communication in that it introduces an element of empathy into what can be a
traumatic experience for patients. In all conversations with patients, the more therapeutic the conversation, the more
satisfied the patient will be with the care provided. Therapeutic communication skills need further enhancement when
dealing with a patient with a life-threatening illness. For those patients, what was important yesterday may mean little or
nothing now. It is essential for the medical assistant to remember this difference in perspective and what is likely
important to patients with a life-threatening illness. Each individual working in a medical career experiences consecutive
days of demanding and emotionally and physically draining interactions with patients and staff. Keeping a balanced
perspective is necessary to reduce stress and enable the medical assistant to take pleasure in working with patients and
colleagues. In this module, learners will enhance their communication skills to be more empathetic and effective
as professional medical assistants and learn how to maintain a balanced perspective.
The Big Picture
Chapter 4: Coping Skills for the Medical Assistant
Chapter 5 Therapeutic Communication Skills
Chapter 4: Coping Skills for the Medical Assistant
Overview
Stress is very much a part of the medical profession. Hopefully as a new medical assistant you will be able to pinpoint
the symptoms of stress and provide ideas for coping with stress as it occurs to use in maybe your practicums or future
employment.
Lecture
Initial Questions and Activities

What type of stress do you feel in your everyday life?
These answers will vary. Write them on the board and include them in questions for discussion later.
1. Analyze the difference between stress and stressors.
Stress: Response to medical and physical changes.
Stress is neither good or bad. It’s how you learn to manage it.
Stressors: Events: moving, loss of a job, ending a relationship

Frustration – circumstances that prevent us to do want we want to do.

Conflicts – two important things equally important

Pressure – demands of workload, schedule or expectations
2. Describe the three categories of stressors.
3. Differentiate between short-duration and long-duration stress.
Short-duration: short lived adrenaline rush the brings the world into sharper focus.

Running to answer a phone, quick judgements and decisions (on the spot)
Curriculum to Accompany Delmar’s Comprehensive Medical Assisting:
Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 5E
Long-duration: (episodic or chronic stress)

Overload (consistently biting off more than you can chew), long term unemployment,
dysfunctional relationships or chronic illness.
4.
Describe the four stages of burnout –
What were your symptoms?
Has anyone ever felt they were experiencing burnout?
Write the symptoms on the board. Find out if there are similar symptoms from different learners. Ask them why
they felt these symptoms were burnout.
5.

Honeymoon stage

Reality stage

Dissatisfaction stage

Sad state stage
Identify persons most vulnerable to burnout

6.
Inadequate social support networks, poorly nourished, sleep deprived, physically ill, persons
facing life transitions.
Discuss general stress management techniques and identify three that you will implement into you lifestyle.
Give handout
(ICA) In-Class Activities

Stress activity/goals handout assignment -3 long term goals, 3 short term goals
(ICD) In-Class Discussion
1. What is the purpose of setting goals in your life?
Short-term goals are those goals that a person wants to accomplish in a month to one year. Long-term goals are those
from one to five years. It is important for a person to set both short-term and long-term goals so they can stay focused on
what they want to accomplish. This gives them ownership in the direction their life is taking.
2. Stress is a normal part of everyday life. How does the body differentiate between positive and negative
stress? Does stress differ from person to person or is it the same for each individual?
The body’s response to mental and physical change is termed stress. Our response can be eustress (positive feelings) or
distress (negative feelings). The body does not differentiate positively and negatively induced stress. It is the level of the
stress and its duration that affect the body. Short-term duration stress is beneficial and helps us focus on details, achieve
difficult goals, and perform at our best. Long-term stress is normally associated with negative events and can be harmful
to the body, resulting in illnesses. Long-term stress also has psychological effects. How our body adapts to stress differs
from person to person and situation to situation. The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for fight or flight to
allow the person the best chance of survival. The metabolic rate is diminished to permit all available energy to be
focused on the event that triggered the fight or flight response.
***************Break****************
Unit 2: The Therapeutic Approach
List Community Resources

(IA) Complete Procedure 5-1 in the textbook, pp. 87-88. Use the Competency Assessment checklist in the
Competency Manual to complete.
***************Break****************
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Chapter 5: Therapeutic Communication Skills
Overview
Because medical assistants are often the liaison between patient and physician, it is critical to be aware of all the
complexities of the communication process. Therapeutic communication differs from normal communication in that it
introduces an element of empathy into what can be a traumatic experience for the patient. The communication cycle
involves sending and receiving messages even when unconsciously aware of them. The two most important
communication functions medical assistants perform are patient interviews and telephone techniques. In this section,
learners will apply communication techniques in an ambulatory care setting.
Initial Questions and Activities

As students enter classroom, sit in front of classroom with arms folded and legs crossed. Have a stern
facial expression. Stare at students as they come in and sit down. Do not say anything until everyone is
seated. Smile and ask, “How did you feel as you walked into the classroom today and saw me?”
Discuss the messages your body language was expressing.
(ICA) In-Class Activities

(GA) Listening Activity. Begin by whispering the following statement to the first student, “Dr. Smith, Mrs.
Grand is on line 1 regarding the results of her mammogram she had done last Thursday.” Have the first
student whisper the statement to the next student and so on. Have the last student repeat the statement to see how
the message ends up. This supports proper listening skills.

(GA) Patient/Medical Assistant Role Playing. Have learners work in groups of two. Have them sit as they
would in doctor’s office. Give learner 1 a medical condition about which they are seeing the provider for. Have
learner 1 use verbal and non-verbal communication and have learner 2 listen actively and look for non-verbal
clues. Learner 2 is to ask specific questions of learner 1 for reason for the visit to set the room appropriately.

(GA) Patient Education Activity. Have learners select a medical condition about which they will educate a
patient. They are to work in groups of two educating each other about the medical condition using proper verbal
and non-verbal communication. *************Maybe*******************
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Curriculum to Accompany Delmar’s Comprehensive Medical Assisting:
Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 5E
This project was funded at $3,000,000 (100% of its total cost) from a grant awarded under the Trade Adjustment
Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants, as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Employment and Training Administration. Rogue Community College is an equal opportunity employer/program.
Auxiliary aids and services, alternate form and language services are available to individuals with disabilities and limited
English proficiency free of cost upon request.
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