INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES ∙ UNIT 9
1. MSDSs are compiled into a manual that must be kept on-site and made available to all employees.
MSDSs give information regarding any hazardous properties of chemical substances and are often supplied by the manufacturer when chemicals are ordered. MSDS manuals are required as a component of compliance with the OSHA standard for chemical exposure. In the ambulatory care setting, medical assistants come into contact with many substances that pose potential chemical hazards. Improper exposure to hazardous substances can cause illnesses, ranging from skin irritations to blindness to pulmonary edema. Substances range from ordinary office supplies (such as typewriter correction fluid) and essential cleansers (such as sodium hypochlorite or household bleach) to medical supplies (such as stains, ethyl alcohol, formaldehyde, fixatives, and preservatives), injectables (such as chemotherapeutic agents), and other substances.
As a class, come up with a list of chemical substances commonly found in the ambulatory care setting. Each student should select one substance. Then each student should perform research to identify a manufacturer who makes and supplies the substance. Write or call the manufacturer to obtain an MSDS or relevant information regarding the chemical substance’s potential hazards.
Using the NFPA’s color and number method for labeling to warn for potential hazards, configure a chemical hazard label for the substance based on the MSDS or hazard information supplied by the manufacturer.
Record information regarding the assigned chemical substance below.
Name of substance: __________________________________________________________
Purpose of substance in the ambulatory care setting: ________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Name of manufacturer: _______________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Telephone: _________________________________________________________________
Suggested NFPA label coding for chemical hazards of the substance:
Red: ________________________________ Yellow: ______________________________
Blue: _____________________________ White: _______________________________
2. Look in your local telephone book for a medical laboratory (using the Yellow Pages, look up
“Laboratories, Medical”).
A. How many are listed? _________________
B. Do any of them have a Web site? If so, pick one or two and list their addresses here:
___________________________________________________. Then log on to a site. (If none of them list a Web site, try going to www.questdiagnostics.com)

INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES ∙ UNIT 9
C. Does the Web site offer patient information regarding certain laboratory tests? If not, try another
Web site. The one listed above does offer patient information.
D. Look up one of the specialties listed in an area you are interested in and research some of the testing performed in those areas.
E. Look particularly at what the patient preparation instructions are, how long the test takes, what it determines/diagnoses. Write down the main information about that test.
F. Try another test or another site.
3. For medical assistants to become confident and skilled at performing venipuncture, they must acquire clinical knowledge of, and hands-on experience with, a variety of procedures and techniques. In addition, and equally as important, they must possess the capacity to empathize with and respond to patients’ concerns and questions. A medical assistant’s own venipuncture experiences, either positive or negative, can play a role in developing these important therapeutic skills. Answer the following questions honestly. Share your stories, reactions, feelings, and observations with your classmates.
A. What do you remember most about your last blood test: the room, the needle, the person who took the blood sample, the pain, the wait, and so on?
B. Overall, have your experiences with having blood drawn been positive or negative? How so?
C. Describe how you generally feel when you are having your blood drawn (relaxed, tense, annoyed, scared, lightheaded, anxious, etc.).
D. Do you think it is silly for people to be afraid or squeamish about blood and syringes? Have you ever fainted during or after you had your blood drawn? Do you know someone who has?
E. How does the sight of your blood leaving your body and entering a syringe make you feel? If you feel uncomfortable, how do you cope with your feelings?
F. In what way, if any, does the demeanor or personality of the person taking your blood affect your experience?
G. How might your personal experiences influence your ability to perform this procedure?
H. How might you draw on your personal experiences to help patients feel comfortable with the procedure and confident in your skills?
I. Do you feel comfortable with the idea of drawing blood from patients? How would you feel about drawing blood from a patient who is in pain? Who cries? Who faints? Who needs to carry on a conversation with you to feel comfortable? Who is not cooperative? Who criticizes you during the procedure?
4. Hematologic tests are the second most common tests performed in the physician’s office laboratory
(POL; the most common is urinalysis). The results of hematologic tests provide valuable information used by the physician when making a diagnosis, evaluating a patient’s progress, and regulating

INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES ∙ UNIT 9 further treatment.
A. In the space below, list five diseases or disorders that are monitored through routine analysis of the blood.
(1) _______________________________________________________________________
(2) _______________________________________________________________________
(3) _______________________________________________________________________
(4) _______________________________________________________________________
(5) _______________________________________________________________________
B. Choose one of the diseases or disorders listed above. Using a medical reference or encyclopedia, research the blood testing performed for that disease or disorder. What test result values will the physician be looking for, and what do these values indicate about states of health or illness in the patient? Write your findings in the space below.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
C. How can the medical assistant who is performing routine blood collection procedures on patients who require blood monitoring support and encourage these patients, who may be depressed or anxious and fearful of the blood-testing process and who often grow tired of constantly being stuck like a pincushion?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
5. Standard Precautions are essential when performing urinalysis on patient urine specimens. As responsible health care professionals, medical assistants must be aware of the possible hazards of procedures performed in the ambulatory care setting and the proper techniques for preventing or reducing any potential risk to patients, employees, or visitors. Consider the urine Clinitest, which detects the presence of reducing sugars in specimens. Complete the Office Procedures Safety Form below, which will become part of the medical practice’s Office Procedures Manual for employees.

INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES ∙ UNIT 9
OFFICE PROCEDURES SAFETY FORM
Procedure: _________________________ Type of hazard: ____________________________________
Person performing procedure: __________________ PPE required: _____________________________
Proper techniques for safety: ____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What is done with used materials and soiled instruments? ____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What chemical products are involved? ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are the specific risks of the procedure? _______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Additional comments: ________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Prepared by: _______________________________________ Date: ____________________________

INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES ∙ UNIT 9
6. Laboratories have many responsibilities in the safety arena. These exist internally, as in the area of employee safety, and externally, as in reporting of the isolation and identification of organisms that are of public health concern. For each example below, research both of these areas at the library, a laboratory, the Public Health Department, or through a regulatory agency.
A. Identify what your course of action might be if you were asked to work without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) or to place hazardous waste in the regular waste container.
B. The physician has ordered throat cultures for several patients who are from the same-area school.
They are quite ill, with a high fever and sore throat; the physician states that one patient appears to be experiencing development of scarlet fever. To whom is this occurrence reported? Is this obligatory for public health? What agency makes the recommendations for public health? Where can you find a list of communicable diseases that laboratories must report? What international agency classifies infectious diseases?
7. Learning as much as possible about the characteristics of particular diseases or conditions can help medical assistants provide assistance and support to patients who are undergoing testing.
A. Choose one disease or condition in this chapter and list the tests used to diagnose it.
Disease or condition: _________________________________________________________
Test(s): ___________________________________________________________________
B. Contact a national or local health organization, such as the National Institutes of Health or the
National Health Information Center Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
(ODPHP), to obtain information and resources about the disease or condition you have chosen, or visit their Web site. Ask for information on topics related to the disease or condition, such as statistics, treatments, diet/exercise programs, patient education, and so on. Use the Internet to conduct a search, or consult your local or school library for other health organizations of interest.
National health organizations can be valuable resources for both health care professionals and patients. What organization will you contact?
Organization name: __________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Telephone number: __________________________________________________________
Web site address: ____________________