Communication Between Medical Assistants

One of the main jobs for medical assistants is communicating between the provider, patient, and other professional staff. Written communication needs to be clear and concise because it reflects on their professional reputation. They must be able to use correct grammar and punctuation. Poor grammar indicates a lack of education and refinement (Makely). Poor grammar is learned and then reinforced by music, advertisement, media, family, and friends. A medical assistant, who uses incorrect grammar might not be aware of it because they were associated with it. Being aware of the need for good grammar or even practicing good grammar will help with being professional in health care. Good grammar also helps lessen confusion when a message is sent out to other employees or when the patient

Using slang is informal language and restricted at the work place. But not all slang is derogatory. In some cases, it’s a way to pack a lot of information into a single phrase, or to warn other colleagues about a potential difficult patient (Michaels). Like for an example a doctor says “High Five” to warn their nurses about a patient who has HIV before operating on that patient. In order to show professionalism, slang should always be avoided. Body gestures or body language can change how a medical assistant is perceived at work. Appropriate body language helps others observe a person as honest, open to ideas, flexible, and engaged in the workplace. Inappropriate body language; rolling the eyes, checking the time, not focusing or making eye contact, can all be viewed as unprofessional are not interested in the job a hand. As stated before, language, grammar, slang, and body gestures are all part of our self-image. If we want to be known as a professional we need to show that we know good grammar and language. As well as, how to communicate well without slang and with appropriate body