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!

:)

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I agree-not only will this class be your foundation, but also learning the shorthand that is used in medicine will be paramount to understanding what is written in notes and orders. For example, "dx" means diagnosis, "sx" means symptoms, the letter "S" with a line above it means without. You will have to learn all of this before you can be efficient as a nurse. It will become second nature to you and you may even catch yourself using this shorthand when you are jotting notes to someone who is NOT in the medical field!

[TDCHIM]

TDCHIM--

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

Yes, that's pretty much true. Only I'm a chick, not a dude. What can I say, I'm a total geek. But to be fair, the OED is an unusually good and complete dictionary. :)

[SandraCVRN]

Medical terminology is also very handy when playing Words with Friends on ones iPhone...

[bradleau]

Yes the medical words,etc are important. I was lucky to have taken Latin as a highschool freshman. I can usually figure out a new word,understand a lot of other words, too. But the terminology is IMPORTANT. How ofter do you think you will see a doctors order, progress note, history and physical written in everyday words. Like SOB does not mean Son of a ....., but Short of Breath, even if the patient is a SOB. So it really does help to know these words. Once you have worked in the medical field, and see how the terms really do make sense, it will be a breeze. My instructor had made a cassette tape of the medical terms most used, and also the medications. She had a German accent, so to this day I tend to speak of Valium with a long "A" sound instead of a short "a" sound over 30 years later. I get a few funny looks, too. LOL

[lt93726]

Medical terminothgy is a must. Along with acceptable abrevations....such as "sx" meant surgery (at my school), "hx" meant history. You can't read a doctors rpt with out understanding how the medical terms break down.

[harleyz]

It is definately a god send to learn Medical Terminology before taking nursing classes. I has definately helped me while reading my Patho textbook!

[Boognish]

Speaking as a first-year nusring student, having a good grasp on medical terminology will help immensely when you start your clinicals. Not only that, it will help you understand A&P when you take that, and many of your other classes.

I mean, you're hopefully going to learn the terminology through hearing it in your other classes. But having a good grasp on it starting out will help you throughout your schooling, and ensure that you have an excellent understanding of it once you are in practice- the importance of which has already been elucidated elsewhere in this thread.

[leenie123]

To studiousme......absolutly!

[winterflower]

To Island 40,

According to my medical dictionary tenesmus means spasmodic contraction of anal or bladder sphincter with pain and persistent desire to empty bowel or bladder, with involuntary ineffectual straining efforts not loud bowel sounds as you indicated.

[winterflower]

Medical Terminology is not a required class where I go to school for nursing and I feel that it should definately be a required class. You have to know the medical lingo before you can explain something to a patient. Also by taking medical terminology if you come across a word you have never seen before by knowing your word roots, prefixes, and suffixes you can figure out what a word means which could come in handle on NCLEX. I chose to take medical terminology on my own because I felt it was important. I think if you have the opportunity to take this class you definately should take advantage of it. Good luck!

[rn/writer, RN]

To Island 40,

According to my medical dictionary tenesmus means spasmodic contraction of anal or bladder sphincter with pain and persistent desire to empty bowel or bladder, with involuntary ineffectual straining efforts not loud bowel sounds as you indicated.

Loud bowel sounds are "borborygmi," if memory serves me right. I always thought that was a funny word, regardless of the meaning. Made me picture short (pygmy) members of the Borbor tribe marching through the intestines.

[sequin121]

A basic foundation in medical terminology is very important. Then you'll realize the entire healthcare profession speaks in acronyms. :)