Has anyone taken medical terminology??

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Well, I was going to take the summer off since I am starting my 1st semester of clinical in August , but I decided to sign up for medical terminology telecourse. I was just wondering what it is like and how hard it is? Considering the fact that it is summer, I didn't want to take anything that will take up all my time. I should be fine b/c I'm only taking one class and I am used to being part-time if not full-time. Any imput you may have will be helpful. Thanks!

Jennifer

There is a wonderful book out called "Language of Medicine" by Chabner. My students used it when I was teaching overseas and with very good results. It also has a built in work book that is quite helpful. The book can be found on Amazon's website as well as others.

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Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.
Hey everyone! Well, I started the med. terminology course and I love it!! Just in the past week I have learned so much helpful information. Granted, some of it I knew from previous courses, however, the majority of the info is bran new or at least explaining what it was I didn't understand in the other courses. B/c it is a summer course, instead of 16 weeks I only have 10 weeks to learn it all. I am confident that when this course is over I will be able to understand any medical term I come across. Thanks for all of your input!!

Jennifer

Good for you Jennifer, your charting's gonna ROCK!

Each and every class you take is going to help you be a better nurse.

(Suzanne - that's the book I used almost 15 years ago in my med term classes!)

I agree that this type of class should be required as a pre-req for nursing. I still have the Chabner book and looking through this huge book again, there's NO WAY that what's in this book can fit on the side bar of any nursing textbook. My med term classes were worth a total of either 7 or 9 quarter units (long time ago!) - there was an intro class and two advanced classes.

I don't get why people are dogging and minimizing a med term class for a nursing student?! :rolleyes:

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Specializes in I don't have much experiance yet..
I don't get why people are dogging and minimizing a med term class for a nursing student?! :rolleyes:

I don't understand it either. As, you said, this class is teaches more than what is on the inside cover of a textbook. The thing is, every post who said they took this course, also said that it was a great class to take and it will really help in the future. I have learned so much already, and it has only been 2 weeks!! :)

Jennifer

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.

I took it 2 years ago, as an online course, and found it invaluable. Many older nurses I've spoken to all had to take it when they were in nursing school, and don't know why it's not required today.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.
Prereqs depend on the school. My BSN program doesn't require a medical terminology prereq. I'm glad I didn't take it as I got along fine without it.

I thinks it's hyperbole to say that a typical 1 credit hour medical terminology course could cover "all of the terminology you will experience in the health care field."

Mine was a 3cr course, and pretty much did cover all the word roots, etc. needed for almost any area of medicine.

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Specializes in I don't have much experiance yet..
Mine was a 3cr course, and pretty much did cover all the word roots, etc. needed for almost any area of medicine.

The class that I'm in covers tons of abbreviations, suffixes, prefixes, and roots. The textbook breaks the medical terms down by areas of the body, chapter by chapter. It goes over medical tests, tx, and so forth. For me it is very benificial b/c, I am a horrible speller (can you tell :chuckle ), it has been a while since I had A&P, and I have never worked in the medical field, so I'm clueless on the terminology. This course has a lot more to it than what I thought it would. I have a feeling that I will do much better in clinical and the work field, b/c of this class :)

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I took a 3 unit medical terminology class back in the stone age while waiting for my LVN program.

It is really helpful to know the prefix, root, and suffixes.

Knowing the meaning of words I had never seen saved time. Many thought I knew much more than I actually did.

It was the first programmed learning class I ever took. Three hours a week and three hours going through the chapter for the next class.

All in all a good thing.

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I took Med Term last semester and loved it. I'm sure that it is something you can learn as you go but it was nice to get an idea as to what I will be encountering in nursing school. My best advice is to make flashcards and review them as often as possible. My final was comprehensive and I was able to flip through the ones that I knew and just work on the ones I wasn't sure of or didn't know. Save all of your flashcards and take them with you. You can pull them out and flip through them as you wait in line at the grocery store, on a break at work or school, while riding in the car, or working out. I took mine to the gym and flipped through them while I was on the treadmill or eliptical. Good luck and have fun with the class. You can never have to much knowledge.

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