RMA Medical Assistant Practice Test 3
Which of these would be best placed under the heading of “medical etiquette”?
Medical etiquette refers to what is regarded as socially acceptable behavior for medical practitioners. Examples might be how a patient is spoken to, the body language employed by a medical practitioner etc. Medical etiquette is not as binding as, and is separate from, medical ethics and law, but it is still regarded as a very important part of being a medical practitioner.
A palpation examination is performed by…?
Palpation means to feel for lumps and abnormalities with the fingers, for example feeling to see if any organs are swollen. A palpation examination should be undertaken with great care for the sensitivities of the patient, and what you are doing should be carefully explained beforehand.
Which body part is not part of the acronym EENT?
EENT stands for ear, eye, nose and throat. EENT specialists were common previously, specializing in the head and neck area. In recent years eye medicine has become increasingly sophisticated and complex, so the eye tends to be treated by specialist ophthalmologists and the other three areas by ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialists.
What area(s) of the brain are the most affected if a person is unable to understand written or verbal speech?
The person cannot understand speech, which does not mean that they are unable to produce speech. Speech production is concentrated in Broca's area and since the question referred to the person's inability to understand speech and not their inability to produce speech, [B] and [E] are not the correct answer. The occipital lobe is responsible for vision, and the parietal is responsible for response to touch and body movements. Only Wernicke's area is the site for language comprehension, therefore the correct answer is [A].
Which of these terms means stopping breathing?
Apnea (or apnoea) refers to stopping breathing. It can be caused by outside force (e.g. strangulation), drugs (e.g. opiates) and neurological disease. Sleep apnea is a condition where the patient may stop breathing many times during a night’s sleep.
What would result following an injury to the phrenic nerve?
The phrenic nerve controls breathing and the movement of the diaphragm. If damage is done to this area the diaphragm will not receive the necessary signals to contract and/or relax, making it extremely difficult or impossible for a person to breathe on their own. The only answer option that coincides with this is [C].
In law, what does “respondeat superior” mean?
Respondeat superior translates as “let the master answer” and means that an employer can be held responsible for an employee’s actions, provided those actions come under the heading of their employment, for example a clinic may be held accountable for a medical practitioner’s negligence. However, this does not mean that employees will necessarily escape sanction for malpractice or negligence: both employer and employee can be sanctioned.
What is a "tickler" system used for?
"Tickler" systems send out automatic appointment reminders to patients, either through automatically issued letters, emails, SMS or automated telephone calls. There will be a default setting for when and how often these will be sent out, but you should be aware of any patients who for some reason may need more frequent or more personal reminders.
Who has ownership of a patient's medical records?
Although all the other entities may request copies of the patient's medical records, they have been created by the care provider (i.e. a medical office, hospital etc.) and remain their property. This means that a care provider is entitled to levy a reasonable charge for the provision of copies of the records.
A patient release is required if you are sending the patient's medical records to another party using which of these methods?
Fax machines are not regarded as a secure method of communication as misdialing can result in the fax going to unintended recipients; also fax machines are often in public areas and not continually monitored. For this reason you must obtain a patient's permission if you wish to send their records by fax.
What are MSDS?
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should be kept for all material supplies in a medical office (e.g. bio-hazardous materials, radioactive materials). They should be regularly updated to show that correct safety procedures are being followed.
When making up invoices for insurance companies, ICD numbers should be used. What does ICD mean?
It should always be made clear when billing insurance companies exactly what condition has been treated. The ICD numbers cover all conditions; if unsure of exactly what condition has been treated, consult with the treating physician.
When washing your hands between procedures or duties, if using soap and water you should take at least…?
In order to ensure your hands are thoroughly clean you should wash them for at least a minute when using soap and water. All parts of the hand should be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed in cold water, dried with a single use towel and you should not touch the faucet with your clean hands when finished.
A patient may be placed at risk of electrocution during an ECG if you have not ensured that the machine is…?
As an ECG machine passes electricity through a patient every care must be taken to ensure that the patient does not receive an excessive charge. Ensuring the machine is properly grounded means that any accidental charge should be drawn away from the patient.
During an ECG test you should monitor the patient's…?
All vital signs should be carefully monitored during an ECG test and the test should be suspended or aborted if a patient begins to show obvious signs of distress.
Which of these is used to drain fluid from the body?
A catheter is used to drain fluid from the body. It may be inserted in a body cavity, duct or vein.
