Which of the following are ways a medical assistant can ease a patients fears prior to a procedure?

Patient education allows patients to play a bigger role in their own care. It also aligns with patient- and family-centered care.

To be effective, patient education needs to be more than instructions and information. Teachers and health care providers need to be able to assess patient needs and communicate clearly.

The success of patient education depends largely on how well you assess your patient's:

• Needs
• Concerns
• Readiness to learn
• Preferences
• Support
• Barriers and limitations (such as physical and mental capacity, and low health literacy or numeracy)

Often, the first step is to find out what the patient already knows. Use these guidelines to do a thorough assessment before starting patient education:

• Gather clues. Talk to the health care team members and observe the patient. Be careful not to make assumptions. Patient teaching based on incorrect assumptions may not be very effective and may take more time. Find out what the patient wants to know or take away from your meeting.
• Get to know your patient. Introduce yourself and explain your role in your patient's care. Review their medical record and ask basic get-to-know-you questions.
• Establish a rapport. Make eye contact when appropriate and help your patient feel comfortable with you. Pay attention to the patient's concerns. Sit down near the patient.
• Gain trust. Show respect and treat each patient with compassion and without judgment.
• Determine your patient's readiness to learn. Ask your patients about their outlooks, attitudes, and motivations.
• Learn the patient's perspective. Talk to the patient about worries, fears, and possible misconceptions. The information you receive can help guide your patient teaching.
• Ask the right questions. Ask if the patient has concerns, not just questions. Use open-ended questions that require the patient to reveal more details. Listen carefully. The patient's answers will help you learn the person's core beliefs. This will help you understand the patient's motivation and let you plan the best ways to teach.
• Learn about the patient's skills. Find out what your patient already knows. You may want to use the teach-back method (also called the show-me method or closing the loop) to figure out what the patient may have learned from other providers. The teach-back method is a way to confirm that you have explained the information in a way that the patient they understand by asking them to act as if teaching it to you. Also, find out what skills the patient may still need to develop.
• Involve others. Ask if the patient wants other people involved with the care process. It is possible that the person who volunteers to be involved in your patient's care may not be the person your patient prefers to be involved with. Learn about the support available to your patient.
• Identify barriers and limitations. You may perceive barriers to education, and the patient may confirm them. Some factors, such as low health literacy or numeracy may be more subtle and harder to recognize.
• Take time to establish rapport. Do a comprehensive assessment. It is worth it because your patient education efforts will be more effective.

Bowman D, Cushing A. Ethical practice and clinical communication. In: Feather A, Randall D, Waterhouse M, eds. Kumar and Clarke's Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 5.

Bukstein DA. Patient adherence and effective communication. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2016;117(6):613-619. PMID: 27979018 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27979018/.

Gilligan T, Coyle N, Frankel RM, et al. Patient-clinician communication: American Society Of Clinical Oncology consensus guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35(31):3618-3632. PMID: 28892432 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28892432/.

Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

For many patients, blood draws are a routine part of medical care, so it's important to ensure the process is as comfortable as possible. Although improving the experience is beneficial to everyone, for people who have a needle phobia, these efforts can be life-saving.

It's estimated that 10 percent of the population struggles with a fear of needles, and this can lead to skipping important blood tests and treatment injections, putting their health at risk. To ensure that all your patients are protected from unnecessary discomfort, check out these seven tips to improve their experience during blood draws.

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7 WAYS TO REDUCE DISCOMFORT DURING BLOOD DRAWS

1. Pay attention to patient body language
The moment you and the patient make contact, pay close attention to their reaction to determine the level of their anticipatory discomfort. Body language, eye shifting and tone of voice can give you clues about how patients will respond to blood draws. Approaching anxious patients with confidence can help alleviate their fears.

"I go in with confidence," says Rebecca Park, RN and founder of RemediesForMe.com. "If the person who is drawing your blood seems nervous and doesn't seem like they've been doing this for long, it gets the patients more nervous."

2. Communicate with your patient
Every patient is different, so what comforts one patient during blood draws may induce anxiety in another. Instead of trying to guess the best way to approach the procedure, ask the patient what would make the process easier for them.

Ross Coyle, Public Relations Officer at Stanford Blood Center says his staff communicates by "explaining the blood draw process to new and anxious donors before and during the procedure." Open communication can make your charges feel more comfortable and establish greater trust in you.

3. Take your time
Establishing trust is essential to preventing a patient's discomfort, so try not to rush through blood draws. Give the person time to inform you of any fears they might have and reassure them that you won't insert the needle until they've given consent.

This may take longer for patients with severe phobias, but it's better than the alternatives of traumatizing the patient with restraints or risking the cancellation of necessary blood tests.

4. Have distractions available
For some patients, having something to distract them from the procedure can help make blood draws tolerable. "I talk with my patients during the blood draw to relax them," says Park. "If they're not 100 percent focused on the needle, their anxiety goes down and so does the pain."

5. Encourage patients to breathe through the procedure
Deep breathing can help ease some of the pain caused by blood draws. "To decrease the pain, I have the patients take a deep breath in," offers Park. "As I insert the needle, I have them slowly breathe out." She explains the pain subsides more quickly if the body is relaxed.

6. Encourage hydration
Dehydration can make it more difficult to find a suitable vein for blood draws. "Ensuring the donors are well-hydrated prior to a donation [helps] minimize the risk of a reaction like lightheadedness or fainting," says Coyle. "We offer them a snack if they haven't eaten as well as encourage them to drink more water."

7. Let your patient warm up
If your patient has just come in from outside in the winter or if the office you work in stays cool, give your patient an opportunity to warm up before attempting a blood draw. This can be done by allowing the patient to sit in the waiting room a moment or encouraging quick physical activity.

You can even use a warm water bottle or heat pack on the area first. Heat makes veins dilate and expand, increasing the odds that you'll find success on the first needle insertion.

Blood draws are not a procedure that most patients look forward to, but there are ways to reduce discomfort and improve the overall experience.

By using these seven tips, you can ensure you're giving your patients every reason to trust you to do your job and minimizing the pain and trauma that can come with unsuccessful blood draws.

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