Medical Assistant and Intravenous Therapy

Intravenous Therapy or IV

Fluids are introduced intravenously into the body in order to replace supply and electrolytes (Pearson 2010). These are large amounts of fluid, electrolytes or nutrients administered to a patient who needs them and cannot take them orally. Medication is also administered intravenously by a physician or by a nurse. The physician informs the nurse on the type, amount, and the rate of the solution to be injected. The nurse is responsible for carrying out the physician's exact instruction to start the therapy and other responsibilities attached to the instruction. State laws specify which health care professionals can start an IV and administer it. Some States allow medical assistants with advanced training and physician supervision to start an IV. Medical assistants, however, should be aware of the risks as they are not trained to push IV medications. Although they become acquainted with IV therapy, it is not a competency (Pearson).

Medical Assistants

They are in charge of the upkeep of the office of the physician or another health practitioner (BLS 2009). In small practices, they perform multi-tasks, administrative and clinical. In large practices, they tend to specialize in a given field but under the supervision of department administrators. They are not the same as physician assistants, who examine, diagnose and treat patients per the direct supervision of a physician. According to specialty, medical assistants may be administrative, clinical, ophthalmic, optometric and podiatric. Some of them are trained on the job but most of them first complete 1 or 2-year programs. All of them have a minimum of a high school diploma. The position does not require formal education or training (BLS).

However, formal training is the general preference (Keir 2006). Most medical assistants have only a high school diploma. High school courses include mathematics, health, biology, computer course, bookkeeping and office skills. Some of them acquire volunteer experience. Those who are trained on the job often attend training sessions and work closely with more experienced medical assistants (Keir).

A medical assistant in an outpatient department of a hospital or another health facility may be permitted to perform other tasks surrounding IV therapy (Keir 2006). She may be asked to set up the IV therapy equipment, initiate it, monitor the patient on the therapy, discontinue it, or teach the patient about the therapy. In the interest of her profession, she should be updated with State laws and facility protocol about her role. In setting the equipment up, she should make sure that the drug and dosage and the equipment are correct. When she inserts an IV, she must observe stringent hygienic measures. She should perform the procedure competently before she actually carries it out. She should review the signs and symptoms of complications when monitoring another patient on the therapy. If she is ordered to discontinue the therapy, she should make sure she applies pressure to stop the bleeding and apply standard precautionary measures. She should be knowledgeable about the reasons for therapy in transmitting that knowledge to the patient about IV therapy and the procedure involved. She must remember that the patient is a human being with psychosocial needs. In addition to her skills and tasks, she should be able to educate and comfort the person according to his or her personal and special circumstances and needs, such as those of older persons and children (Keir).