Welcome! This guide important information about completing your team research project for Dr. Richard Lippard's Medical Office Administration class.
This group (2-3 persons) presentation aims to help patients obtain reliable information and resources about their condition. You are a new medical assistant working in a full-scope medical practice. This practice sees patients of all ages, from newborns to the elderly, from the womb to the tomb.
Your doctor's office is trying to help their patients learn more about managing their medical conditions. The doctors ask you and your team to pick a medical condition that interests you and would benefit their diverse patients. Your team is tasked to find reliable information that patients can use to improve their lives and medical conditions. For example, if you have a patient with type 2 diabetes, what information can you provide to help them manage their disease? Are there any local resources or organizations that can help them?
Also, medical issues can be compounded if a patient is affected by adverse conditions and their Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). The Social Determinants of Health consist of factors that affect a patient's place in society and can be found where they live, work, and play ( https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health). For example, a patient with diabetes could also be experiencing the condition of being unhoused, and they could be a single parent, a non-native English speaker, or a recently incarcerated person who is now trying to re-establish themselves. What barriers might they encounter, and what resources might be available to them?
You are asked to write a five- to seven-page paper discussing a single medical condition and at least one SDoH. This paper should be in APA7 format and include a 15-—to 20-minute oral presentation. Each team member must share in the research and writing and speak for at least five minutes.
Understand your assignment completely. Know what kind of resources you will need, the length of the final product, any steps you need to take before submitting the final product. Ask your instructor any questions you may have.
Before you settle on a topic, it's a good idea to do some background research. The library is a good place to find essential information on a topic.
Now, it's time to zero in on your topic. Remember the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic should be.
After you've refined your topic, it's time to start searching for information. Do you need books, articles, data or something else. Ask a librarian for assistance if you have trouble finding sources on your topic.
It's always a good idea to assess sources before using them in your assignment. Do the sources your found match the assignment's requirements? Are the sources factual and unbiased? Is there anything murky about who authored the material and where they got their information?
Organize your sources. Tie the information from your sources with your own thoughts and analysis to a make a compelling argument.
Make sure you cite your sources as you write, and you include all your references using the standard required by your instructor. We cite and reference to shed a light on others' research and ideas, to make our work more credible, to connect readers with reputable information, and to protect ourselves from plagiarism.