Building Strong Patient Relationships: Communication Skills for Medical Assistants

Becoming a medical assistant means you will have a stable, in-demand job in a growing field. When you are looking to make a career change, you can become a medical assistant quickly and begin a lucrative career in a relatively short period of time. But becoming a medical assistant isn’t just about learning the clinical skills you need. To be a successful medical assistant with strong patient relationships, you will need to hone your communication skills as well.

Communication Skills are Key

As a medical assistant, you will be interacting with patients every day. In many cases, you will be the first member of the medical team that talks to the patient. One of the most common tasks a medical assistant will perform is taking vital signs and a patient history before the doctor or nurse comes in to see the patient, and you will be responsible for conveying all the information about your interaction to the other members of the medical team. To do this, you need to have both excellent listening skills as well as the verbal skills needed to get the information to the team quickly and effectively. Without good communication about the patient at the onset of the visit, the rest of the team may not understand any potential problems that need to be addressed.

Good Communication Skills Set Patients at Ease

Many patients come into a medical office feeling anxious-even for routine visits. While this may present as nervousness in some patients, for others it may come out as anger, annoyance, or extremely guarded. As a medical assistant, you are responsible for getting the necessary information from the patients, but you are also there to help set them at ease. For many patients, friendly small talk can help them relax enough to get through their appointment. Medical assistants can become excellent at reading both verbal and non-verbal clues, such as body language, to know what their patients need to calm their nerves. If you can settle an anxious patient’s fears before they see the nurse or doctor, the visit is often far more productive for everyone.

Learning How to Address Different Patients

You wouldn’t talk to an adult the same way you would talk to a young child. As a medical assistant, you may see babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly, and knowing how to effectively communicate with each age group can help you gain trust. Young children do well with soft voices, reassurance, and euphemisms for “scary” or unfamiliar medical terms, but using this same strategy with teenagers or adults will come across as condescending. It’s important to take a personal approach with every patient. While you don’t want to come across as nosy, many patients like to talk about their job, lifestyle, hobbies, and vacations, and young children love to share their favorite toys and characters. When you allow patients to begin their appointment simply by chatting with you, you can connect with the patient.

Communicating with Medical Professionals is Just as Important

Medical assistants need to be clear, concise, and respectful when conveying information to other medical professionals. The information that you give to the other medical professionals can help guide the exam and treatment, so you need to make sure that you are accurate when you pass on that information. You may also need to help explain the information from the medical professional back to the patient in a way that is easy for them to understand, so you will need to listen carefully to the doctor and know how to break that information down later.

Becoming a Medical Assistant Means Honing Your Communication Skills

When you become a medical assistant, you will need to hone both your clinical skills as well as your “soft” skills, and this includes communication. In the process of becoming a medical assistant, you will have clinical experience where you can practice interactions with patients and learn how to communicate more effectively.

Becoming a medical assistant is a smart decision for many adults who are looking for a new career. The healthcare field is always growing and in search of dedicated professionals. If you want to be successful as a medical assistant, pay attention to how well you communicate, and know that good communication skills can make a big difference in your career.

If you’ve been thinking about a career change, now is a great time to enter the healthcare field. Athena Career Academy offers an accredited, comprehensive medical assistant training program that will help you become a successful medical assistant. With our flexible class schedules, no wait list, and caring faculty and staff, we are invested in your success from day one. Contact us today to learn more about our programs and get details on how to enroll.