LP4.1 Assignment: Remembering Names
As a medical assistant patient reception is a key aspect of daily routines, however, with the abundance of patients that pass through the office each day, remembering everyone’s name can be difficult. In the situation presented for this assignment, medical assistant Georgina encounters a patient on her way to lunch and she cannot remember their name. She knows she sees this client occasionally outside of work in places like the library and grocery store and must think of ways to remember her name – there are many ways in which to accomplish this. Encountering someone in either a professional or personal setting can be uncomfortable for both parties, particularly if they are a patient, but there are subtle…show more content… It can be embarrassing as a medical professional to draw a blank on a patient’s name especially right in front of their face. One pointer to use in a situation such as this, where a name has been forgotten and no medical record is available, is to ask the client how to spell their name; they may be confused or appear disappointed that their name was forgotten. Then, as they likely begin to spell their first name, interrupt them, and clarify that you meant their last name – this gives you both their first and last name without hurting their feelings. Unfortunately, this is not failsafe as the person may have a simple name such as John Smith and inquire as to why they were asked to spell it. In the future, if there is no guaranteed method of obtaining the desired information discreetly, honesty is the best policy. Apologizing to the patient and requesting their name again may result in hurt feelings but generally, people are understanding of the fact that medical assistants are only human and do in fact see many people on a daily basis. It is our responsibility to ensure that being forgetful is not a regular occurrence and to figure out the best method to prompt our memories and remember our patients as best that we
