Medical Terminology in Nursing...

[studiousme]

Hi!

I'm new to the forum. I'm currently in school taking my pre-reqs for nursing, and one of my assignments for the Medical Terminology class is to have a discussion with someone in the medical field the importance (or lack thereof) of having a solid grasp of Medical Lingo in the field. Basically, is this going to be a useful class once I'm actually working?

I can't wait to hear from you!

:)

[merlee]

I loved teaching medical terminology, especially when I could hook it up with 'everyday' words. Pepsodent, Lysol, Pepto-Bismal and many other brand names can be related to med terminology.

And without a sound knowledge of medical terminology, you will never be able to read a chart, take off orders, write decent notes.

[mad-mary]

Learning medical terminology helps you chart values, locations, and descriptions more precisely. It also helps you communicate your assessment findings in a manner that can be understood by those who need to know.

[PatMac10,RN, RN]

Learning Greek and Latin would probably be even more useful, and more fun.

Many of the early Anatomists were Greek or Latin, so many of the words they used to describe structures are either Greek or Latin, obviously. Take the cauda equina, the name literally translates as horse tail, because that is what it looks like. Sella Turcica = Turkish Saddle ect. Pretty much every word for a part of human anatomy has it's roots in either Latin or Greek.

I agree that, while not necessarily an absolute need, Latin can be very helpful when learning medical terminology and language in general. I took Latin in HS and it wooped my tail, but it really helped me learn root meanings and stuff like that.

For example Ambulate means to walk the latin root word for walk is Ambulat. I am glad I took the class, but again most do not take nor wish to take a course in a dead language and they do just fine with medical terminolgy.

[Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN]

If nothing else, it's helpful to hear an instructor pronounce medical words correctly. My medical terminology instructor made sure no one left her class saying pharynx or larynx incorrectly. Saying basic medical words incorrectly when one is in the medical field makes one a dillweed.

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Without medical terminology an X-ray report may read: The hip bone not connected to the thigh bone..

Orient...oriented...orientated - Oh please! We've been fighting this battle at least twice a year since since I've been a member here.

[AnnaSL, BSN, RN]

it is very helpful.. The more you master it, the more it will be easier for you to have a brief understanding of a patient's Medical Conditions by just coining out the diagnosis.

And by it, you'll be proud of yourself.. you'll benefit from it i assure you

[studiousme]

NascarNurse- that was hilarious!

No, I think maybe the tone of my original query made me sound like a skeptic, but so far, I really like the class. I like learning new words. It's like finding a language that's been hiding in my dear old English, all this time, right under my nose.

[rn/writer, RN]

staff note: let's move away from the "orient" vs. "orientate" discussion. this has been discussed ad nauseum (there's a bit of latin for you) in several other threads on grammar and usage.

here is the distilled version of those conversations. "orientate" is a perfectly legitimate word, and it is the preferred choice in the uk, australia, and several other countries. in the states, however, "orient" is much more prevalent, and "orientate" makes people roll their eyes and start language discussions.

let's return to the original topic.

thanks.

[TDCHIM]

I'm going into an allied health area where I'll be reading charts, figuring out how to code them, analyzing health data for patterns, etc. That being the case, I've had to take multiple semesters of medial terminology and linguistics. I had a good grounding in Latin, so it wasn't at all miserable for me; it's actually like doing a puzzle with bits and portions of words. I enjoy that sort of thing (I know, I'm a total nerd).

I have no way to know for sure, as I'm not a nurse and never will be; however, I just can't imagine how one would be able to function as a nurse without a good grasp of medical terminology! It just seems as though there would be a million situations where that knowledge would be absolutely vital.

As for detecting a hidden language within English - medical terminology is one of those areas where you'll see different roots from all sorts of different languages incorporated into the whole. English is actually a treasure trove when it comes to that sort of thing; we have everything from old French and Germanic words and word roots to bits and pieces of Arabic and Scandinavian languages. English is a huge mishmash and it's fascinating (well, at least it is to me) to puzzle out how certain words came to be. Enjoy finding and deciphering the hidden languages within our language! :)

[studiousme]

Thank you all for your feedback. You've been incredible! And I'm sure I'll be lurking around the site for more advice and input :)

Yeah, I'm pretty nerdy about language too, and enjoy connecting words from one language w. words from other languages, and words from words. I also took highschool latin (and it kicked me around pretty good, too), but then I took etymology, and that was good clean fun! :)

[chorkle]

TDCHIM--

You sound like one of those dudes (I'm one) who enjoys reading the OED.

[SWS RN, ASN, RN]

I'm glad you are doing well in your class...once you master it-it becomes second nature to speak and write medicalese...I am constantly using the "c" with the little sign over it to write the word "with", my non medical friends are all like "what's that?"...uh, never mind...

Good luck-you will find it fun when you can converses fluently with all those medical people!