Medical Assistant Certification (CMA / RMA) Clinical Procedures and Patient Care Syllabus

Clinical Procedures and Patient Care syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Clinical Procedures and Patient Care in Medical Assistant Certification (CMA / RMA), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Infection Control and Asepsis

   6 topics

   • Chain of Infection and Cycle Breaking
   • Standard and Transmission-Based Precautions
   • Medical vs Surgical Asepsis
     • Handwashing and hand hygiene
     • Sterile field setup
   • Sterilization and Disinfection Methods
     • Autoclaving and indicators
     • Chemical disinfection levels
   • Bloodborne Pathogens and PPE
   • Biohazard and Sharps Disposal
2. 2

   Vital Signs and Patient Assessment

   5 topics

   • Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration
   • Blood Pressure Measurement
     • Korotkoff sounds
     • Cuff selection and error sources
   • Height, Weight, and BMI
   • Pain Assessment and Pulse Oximetry
   • Obtaining and Documenting Patient History
3. 3

   Assisting with Examinations and Procedures

   4 topics

   • Patient Positioning and Draping
   • Examination Methods and Sequence
   • Assisting with Specialty Exams
     • Gynecologic and prenatal exams
     • Pediatric and geriatric exams
   • Minor Surgical Assisting
     • Instrument identification
     • Suture and staple removal
     • Wound care and dressing changes
4. 4

   Pharmacology and Medication Administration

   6 topics

   • Drug Classifications and Actions
   • Routes of Administration
     • Oral, topical, inhalation
     • Parenteral injections (IM, SC, ID)
   • Dosage Calculation and Conversions
     • Metric and household systems
     • Pediatric dosing formulas
   • Six Rights of Medication Administration
   • Prescriptions and DEA Schedules
   • Immunizations and Vaccine Storage
5. 5

   Emergency Care and First Aid

   5 topics

   • Recognizing Medical Emergencies
   • CPR, AED, and Choking Response
     • BLS sequence
     • Rescue breathing
   • Crash Cart and Emergency Supplies
   • Managing Shock, Bleeding, and Fractures
   • Burns, Poisoning, and Allergic Reactions

Clinical Procedures and Patient Care flashcards for Medical Assistant Certification (CMA / RMA)

19 of 54 cards from the Clinical Procedures and Patient Care deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the six links in the chain of infection?

   Infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host. Breaking any single link stops the spread of infection.

2. What is the single most effective way to break the chain of infection?

   Proper hand hygiene (handwashing or alcohol-based hand sanitizer), which interrupts the mode of transmission.

3. What are Standard Precautions and to whom do they apply?

   A set of infection-control practices (hand hygiene, PPE, safe injection practices) applied to ALL patients regardless of diagnosis, treating all blood and body fluids (except sweat) as potentially infectious.

4. Name the three categories of Transmission-Based Precautions and an example disease for each.

   Contact (MRSA, C. difficile), Droplet (influenza, pertussis), and Airborne (tuberculosis, measles, varicella). They are used in addition to Standard Precautions.

5. What is the difference between medical asepsis and surgical asepsis?

   Medical asepsis (clean technique) reduces the number of microorganisms; surgical asepsis (sterile technique) eliminates ALL microorganisms and spores. Surgical asepsis is required for invasive procedures.

6. What is the difference between sterilization and disinfection?

   Sterilization destroys ALL microorganisms including spores; disinfection destroys most pathogens but not necessarily bacterial spores. Sterilization is used on instruments penetrating tissue.

7. What temperature, pressure, and time are standard for an autoclave?

   250°F (121°C) at 15 psi for approximately 20-30 minutes. The autoclave uses pressurized steam, the most common sterilization method in medical offices.

8. What are the three levels of disinfection?

   High-level (kills all microbes except high numbers of spores), intermediate-level (kills bacteria, most viruses/fungi, TB), and low-level (kills most bacteria, some viruses/fungi).

9. What are bloodborne pathogens, and name the three most significant ones.

   Pathogenic microorganisms in human blood that cause disease. The three most significant are Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and HIV.

10. In what order is PPE donned (put on) and doffed (removed)?

    Don: gown, mask/respirator, goggles/face shield, gloves. Doff: gloves, goggles/face shield, gown, mask/respirator. Hand hygiene follows removal.

11. What color and symbol identify biohazardous waste containers?

    Red or orange containers/bags labeled with the biohazard symbol and the word 'BIOHAZARD.' Used for items saturated with blood or other potentially infectious materials.

12. How should used needles and sharps be disposed of?

    Placed immediately into a puncture-resistant, leak-proof, red sharps container labeled with the biohazard symbol. Needles must NOT be recapped, bent, or broken.

13. What are the normal adult ranges for oral temperature, pulse, and respiration?

    Oral temperature ~98.6°F (37°C); pulse 60-100 beats/min; respiration 12-20 breaths/min.

14. List the routes for taking temperature from most to least accurate (core).

    Rectal (most accurate, ~99.6°F), then oral (~98.6°F), tympanic/temporal, and axillary (least accurate, ~97.6°F).

15. What are the most common sites for palpating a pulse?

    Radial (wrist, most common), carotid (neck, used in emergencies/CPR), brachial (infant pulse and BP), femoral, popliteal, dorsalis pedis, and apical (auscultated with stethoscope).

16. What are the Korotkoff sounds and what do the first and last indicate in blood pressure?

    Sounds heard during BP auscultation. The first sound (Phase I) = systolic pressure; the disappearance of sound (Phase V) = diastolic pressure.

17. What are the blood pressure categories per current guidelines (normal, elevated, stage 1, stage 2)?

    Normal <120/<80; Elevated 120-129/<80; Stage 1 HTN 130-139 or 80-89; Stage 2 HTN ≥140 or ≥90 mmHg.

18. What errors result from using a blood pressure cuff that is too small or too large?

    A cuff too small (too narrow) gives a falsely HIGH reading; a cuff too large gives a falsely LOW reading. The bladder should encircle ~80% of the arm.

19. What is the formula for Body Mass Index (BMI) using metric units?

    BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)². Using pounds and inches: BMI = [weight (lb) ÷ height (in)²] × 703.

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