Diverse Patients/Writing Professional Correspondence

This written assignment will consist of two parts. The first part will include a discussion on the understanding and importance of cultural diversity in the medical field and how to overcome possible cultural barriers to improve patient care and outcomes. The second part of the written assignment will provide you further practice at creating and formatting a patient letter summarizing clinical results.

Part 01: Interacting with Culturally Diverse Patients

Mrs. Abdul, a devoted Muslim, has recently emigrated from the Middle East to live with her daughter and son-in-law. The Abdul family are patients at the clinic you work at as a Medical Administrative Assistant for about 4 months now. In that time, you have noticed that Mrs. Abdul has arrived late for all of her appointments to date. She has arrived late for her appointment today and seemed reluctant to answer many of the questions that are being asked to her. Also, it is observed that Mrs. Abdul allows her daughter to speak for her most of the time. Based on some preliminary testing that was conducted, Dr. Jones is concerned that Mrs. Abdul may have cancer, but must do some further diagnostic testing to be sure.

Requirements

In 1-2 pages with the use of a minimum of two credible resources, discuss the importance of understanding cultural differences in the medical environment and how they can improve patient care and outcomes. Then discuss methods how to resolve the communication barrier between the doctor and Mrs. Abdul to allow for further diagnostic testing, importance of arriving on time for appointments, and highlight possible complications to overcome to ultimately improve patient care and outcomes for Mrs. Abdul.

Part 02: Writing Professional Correspondence

You will practice writing a professional correspondence to a patient summarizing the results of their recent visit and the doctor’s recommendations. The requirements of your letter are:

• Block or modified block format
• Indented paragraphs
• 1-2 paragraphs in length
• Include current date
• Letter addressed to patient: Monica Peters
• Letter signed by doctor: Julia D. Mallard, MD

Take the following data/information and format it into complete sentences summarizing the results of Mrs. Peters’ recent visit and her doctor’s recommendations in 1-2 paragraphs within your letter.

Make sure you include of the following data/information in your letter:

• Clinical Data to include
  • Hemoglobin A1C results were within normal limits from recent visit
  • Test results of Hemoglobin A1C were 6.8%
  • Desired results would be a value less than 7.0%
• Type II diabetes is under control
• Current dosage of Glucotrol XL of 5mg/day is appropriate and should be continued
• Glucotrol XL prescription is enclosed for continued use
• Repeat Hemoglobin A1C test in 6 months
• If any questions or changes occur, contact office