Medical Office Assistant

Your at-home learning Program includes eleven Instruction Sets designed to take you step by step through the techniques and skills you’ll employ in your new career as a Medical Office Assistant. Your first Instruction Set will be sent to you as soon as your enrolment has been accepted. Other Instruction Sets will follow as you complete your exams, so that you will always have training materials to work with.

In order to complete this program, you will need to have access to an IBM®-compatible PC with the following minimum system requirements: Pentium 233 MHz, or faster (Pentium® III or better, recommended); Windows® XP operating system, or Windows® 2000 with SP3; 128MB RAM; 260MB available hard disk space; CD-ROM or DVD drive; Super VGA (800x600) or higher resolution monitor; mouse or compatible pointing device; Internet access (dial-up or broadband), and a current version of Microsoft® Office.

Here is an overview of what you’ll learn and the order in which you’ll receive your learning materials:

Instruction Set 1

• Learning Strategies
  • Successful studying methods; creating effective and efficient study tools; using study tools to improve your chances of success.
• Introduction to Health Care
  • History of medicine; health care in Canada; medical insurance and third-party payers; technology in health care; role of health information management professionals in health care; working in health information management; professional organizations.

Instruction Set 2

• Meeting and Travel Planning
  • Assessing your company's travel needs; developing a working relationship with a travel agent; planning a meeting.
• Administrative Office Procedures, Part 1
  • Communicating with your supervisor and co-workers; being professional; telephone communications.
• Administrative Office Procedures, Part 2
  • Processing of mail, postal regulations, email security, time management.

Instruction Set 3

• Interpersonal Communication
  • Components of communication; developing a pleasing phone personality; scheduling a doctor’s workday efficiently.
• Graded Project: Interpersonal Communication

Instruction Set 4

• Law and Ethics in Allied Health 1
  • Legal and ethical issues in the delivery of health care are presented. A grounding in the parts of tort and contract law that affect health care delivery is set forth along with broad ideas concerning the functioning of the legal system. Special attention is given to confidentiality, privileged communications, informed consent, the elements of and defenses against malpractice, legal and practical issues commonly encountered by medical office professionals, end-of-life and beginning-oflife legal and ethical issues, and the effect of managed care on ethical issues faced by health-care practitioners.
• Law and Ethics in Allied Health 2
  • Medical records and privacy; contemporary medical ethical issues; ethics and reproductive health; ethics and dying.

Instruction Set 5

• First Steps in Using a Personal Computer
  • How to start up and shut down a computer; using the keyboard and mouse to navigate the system; basic computer setup.
• Using Windows®
  • Windows® operations, including start-up; using Windows® accessories; using desktop commands; using Windows® Explorer.
• Internet Basics
  • Commonly used browsers; how to use a browser; bookmarking; downloading files; receiving and sending email; search engines; plug-in and helper applications.
• Graded Project: Microsoft® Word
• Graded Project: Microsoft® Excel®

Instruction Set 6

• Using the Parts of Speech
  • A description of the parts of a sentence; how to use the parts of speech to write effectively; subject-verb agreement; use of the active voice; effective use of modifiers; producing correct, polished writing for business; common grammatical problems.
• Punctuation and Capitalization
  • Descriptions of punctuation marks and the purpose of each; using punctuation to properly document research sources; rules of capitalization.
• Writing Sentences and Paragraphs
  • Writing complete, correctly structured sentences and unified, coherent paragraphs; sentence length and variety; avoiding run-ons and fragments; constructing organized paragraphs.
• Improving Your Writing
  • Using particular patterns of organization, content, and language to most effectively convey a specific idea to a specific audience; revising, editing, and proofreading.
• Types of Business Writing
  • Composing clear, courteous, and complete messages; formatting and etiquette for letters, email, memos, and forms.
• Reference: Introduction to Writing

Instruction Set 7

• Introduction to Medical Terminology
  • Common root words, prefixes and suffixes; determining the meaning of a medical term by analyzing its parts.
• Cellular Anatomy/Integumentary and Musculoskeletal Systems
  • Introduction to medical terminology; chemistry/ laboratory; pharmacology; cells, tissues, and membranes; integumentary system; musculoskeletal system; blood and cardiovascular system; respiratory system; digestive system.
• Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Digestive Systems
  • Structure and circulation; electrical conduction; major blood circuits; blood; cardiovascular and blood diseases; tests and procedures of the cardiovascular system and blood; anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system; breathing; disorders of the respiratory system; tests and procedures of the respiratory system; tissues of the GI tract; organs of the digestive system; pathology of the digestive system; tests and procedures of the digestive tract.
• Learning Aids:
  • Online Audio File: Body Systems Terminology
  • Online Audio File: Transcription Practice Tape
  • Online Supplement: Transcription Practice Text

Instruction Set 8

• Sensory Organs, Nervous System, and Endocrine System
  • Sense organs; nervous system; endocrine system; urinary/excretory system; male and female reproductive systems; lymphatic system; oncology and radiation; surgery and pathology; genetics.
• Excretory, Reproductive, and Immune System
  • Anatomy and physiology of excretory, reproductive, and lymphatic systems; pathology of the urinary, reproductive, and lymphatic systems; tests and procedures of the urinary, reproductive, and lymphatic systems.
• Medical Specialties
  • Oncology; radiology and nuclear medicine; surgery and pathology; genetics.
• Learning Aids:
  • Online Audio File: Body Systems Terminology
  • Online Audio File: Transcription Practice Tape
  • Online Supplement: Transcription Practice Text
• Reference : Medical Dictionary

Instruction Set 9

• Math for the Office Professional
  • Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, decimals, and fractions; rates, percents, and percentages.
• Financial Management
  • Basic accounting terminology; commonly used accounting systems; preparing billing statements.
• Medical Insurance
  • Introductions to medical insurance; types of insurance; insurance terminology; the insurance claim process; specific insurance carriers.

Instruction Set 10

• Prescribers of Drugs
  • Professionals who are licensed to prescribe medications; types of medications prescribed.
• Drug Classifications: Body Systems
  • Understanding the basics of pharmacology; understanding drug use; understanding prescriptions; drugs classified according to body system.

Instruction Set 11

• Clinical Procedures
  • The role of pathogenic organisms in disease; controlling and preventing infection; diagnostic tests used in medical offices.
• Textbook: Clinical Procedures for Medical Assistants
• Learning Aid:
  • DVD: “Vital Signs: Temperature, Pulse, Respiration, Blood Pressure, Measurement, and Screening Procedures”

Online Library and Librarian
Students in ICS Canada have access to an online library for use during their studies. Students can use this library to do the required research in the courses they complete or can use it for general reference and links to valuable resources. The library contains helpful research assistance, articles, databases, books, and Web links. A librarian is available to answer questions on general research-related topics via email and assist students in research activities during their studies with ICS Canada.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.

Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

IBM is a trademark of IBM registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel in the U.S. and other countries.