Professionalism and Integrity

Communication

No where is the need for personal integrity as great as in the medical and healthcare field where doctors and allied health professionals continually deal with people that are vulnerable and in need of care, and often have financial and personal problems.

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Privileges

The information that medical assistants have access to falls into the category of "privileged communication". Medical assistants have no right to divulge any medical or personal information about a patient, however trivial it may seem, to any unauthorized individuals. The prohibition of release of confidential information is essential to the doctor-patient relationship, and the doctor's and medical assistant's integrity. 

Proper Conduct

Certain states mandate that persons who provide services that involve direct contact with patients and residents at a licensed health care facility have their background checked and possibly undergo a pre-employment drug screening test. Applicants can call their local area Agency on Aging or Department of Public Health to learn more about the laws that apply in their particular state.

Calling Yourself a Medical Assistant

It may be perceived as improper, some may even think that it is illegal to call yourself a medical assistant without having earned a diploma as such. However, medical assistants do not have to earn their job title through formal training from a school; as a matter of fact in most states they don't have to be certified either. Certification remains voluntary in almost all US states, and licensing is NOT required.

Medical assistants should always properly introduce themselves by name and profession, and avoid confusion by wearing a name tag followed by their credential, such as "Donna White, Medical Assistant". The best way to say I am a skilled allied health professional and proud is to always wear your badge and pin. And always correct anyone who assumes you are a nurse! This is one way to help the MA profession become recognized and appreciated in the public eye.

Falsely Calling Yourself a Nurse

Whether the medical assistant is a complete novice, or a former nurse hired into the position to assist the doctor in the role of a medical assistant, he/she must be referred to as just that: a medical assistant. Medical assistants should NEVER encourage patients to call them nurse, or silently tolerate it if a patient mistakenly addresses them as such.

It is illegal for a medical assistant to pose as a nurse. The intent of protecting the title "nurse" is to protect the public from individuals who are not nurses, yet deceitfully lead the public to believe they are to provide certain services that only nurses are qualified to provide. Twenty four states are known to have statutory protections for the title nurse: AZ, CA, CO, FL, HI, ID, KY, MD, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, ND, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI. Feel free to comment on this topic in our medical assistant web forum! 

 

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