As a Medical Assistant, you will routinely communicate with and provide education to your patients. Researching specific disease states, treatment plans, or procedures may be a vital part of your job in order to provide patient education. It is important to research credible sources as this allows you to have valid information to present to them.

This week, you will select and research a disease and then design a patient education pamphlet that you might share with your patients about that disease.

To complete this assignment, do the following:

1. Select a disease that you find interesting and wish to know more about.

1. Select a suitable Word template that will help you present the information to your patients in a well-organized and attractive way.

   TIP: Word templates are available when you first open Word or when you select New from the File menu. Search for “brochure” or “flyer” to find a suitable design for your pamphlet.

1. Use a minimum of 3 credible sources* that describe the disease you have selected. Include a variety of resources, such as a scholarly journal article, a magazine or newspaper article, or a web resource. Two of your sources must be academic/scholarly sources, such as a book or an academic scholarly journal. Academic scholarly journals can be accessed through the Rasmussen Online Library.

   Cite these resources throughout the pamphlet and include a references section at the end of the pamphlet. Use proper APA formatting for citations and references. For help with formatting your references and citations, see the APA guide.

1. Explain the disease as clearly as possible, using appropriate professional language, terminology, and level of detail for your audience. Be creative in your presentation and include pictures and diagrams to support your patients’ understanding.

1. Include the following information:
   • Standard information
     • Description of the disease
     • Signs and symptoms of the disease
     • Common causes of the disease (chronic, etc.)
   • Answers to common patient questions
     • How is it treated?
     • What medications are used to treat it?
     • Are any procedures associated with its treatment? If so, what preparation is involved for the procedure?

1. Use proper grammar and punctuation throughout your pamphlet.

*A note about credible sources: Credible sources are reliable, accurate, and trustworthy. These sources are written by authors respected in their fields of study. You want to identify sources where the author of the article is listed; if they’ve referenced other information, the sources should be cited so that you can check for the accuracy of and support what they have written. Wikipedia is not considered a credible source. For more information on credible sources, please visit the Rasmussen Online Library.