Uncovering hidden risk through ambulatory medical assistant skills review: Findings from an experiential infection prevention and patient safety skills fair.

BACKGROUND

Ambulatory medical assistants (MAs) and certified medical assistants (CMAs) receive less guidance from subject matter expert educators (SMEEs) than hospital nurses, increasing reliance on informal skills transfer and perpetuating risks.

METHODS

A quasi-experiential study with single group, pre-post intervention across 19 skills fairs, with standardized content, grounded in adult learning theory and high-reliability principles. 528 CMAs/MAs reviewed hand hygiene (HH), point-of-care testing (POCT), and intramuscular vaccination with SMEEs, using inquiry-driven methods.

RESULTS

Infection prevention (IP) knowledge improved significantly post-intervention for HH (55.2% vs 15.8%), POCT (70.4% vs 23.8%), and intramuscular vaccination (82.2% vs 33.6%). Self-confidence increased from 63% to 81% post-intervention. Participants rated the fair positively (4.9/5), and qualitative feedback was favorable (71.4%). SMEEs also identified deviations from safe IP practices in HH, needle selection, and patient instructions for POCT.

CONCLUSIONS

A psychologically safe, hands-on skills fair significantly improved ambulatory CMA/MA knowledge and confidence while uncovering latent patient safety risks. Despite limitations related to short-term knowledge assessment and real-world application, findings support routine experiential skills fair as a high-impact strategy to review best practices and strengthen ambulatory IP and patient safety techniques.