Has anyone taken medical terminology??

z's playa · May 5, 2005

What kind of course is medical terminology? I never heard of it. Is it as straight forward as it sounds?

Z

soontobe_RN · May 5, 2005

What kind of course is medical terminology? I never heard of it. Is it as straight forward as it sounds?
Z

"The course includes Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, roots, abbreviations, names of diseases and operations related to hospital services and allied health specialties. Prerequisites: Test score or RDG 051 or ESL 100 or RDG 120 and Test score or ENG 051 or NCS 051 or ESL 100 or ENG 121 or ENG 125"

That is straight from the course catalog. So, what do you think??

Jennifer

lunakat · May 5, 2005

I took med term as it is required for certain programs in our area. It really is a good class to have. Most medical terms are latin based so what this class does is break down the words into root forms, prefixes and suffixes. It helps you understand what they are talking about in charts, your text book ect. For example any word with the suffix -ectomy in it means the removal of ie hysterectomy (removal of uterus root word hyster meaning uterus), or bradycardia prefix brady means slow, root word cardia means heart so it means a slow heart (beat) or tachcardia tachy meaning fast is a fast heart (beat). i also got to learn some common abbreviations such s/s which equals signs and symptoms, Tx is treatment, Hx is history. My book had examples of charts and for our homework we had to decode certain sections....

Its not that hard, I think it is a good class to take, you will mainly spend time memorizing roots, prefixes and suffixes and being able to figure out what the word means without having a definition just based on you breaking it down.

NurseFirst · May 5, 2005

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

Good idea! I'm sure that medical terminology would have helped a number of my fellow students. Learning prefixes, suffixes and the like can also be helpful in learning and remembering certain things, because you can begin to understand how theings got named. My favorite is how, one day, I realized that I would never have to remember where the adrenal glands are or where renin is made. Why? Because the words tell me: look at the stem in both words, it is "ren"-- meaning kidney. So, "ad" "renal" glands are glands that are above the kidneys; and renin is a hormone made in the kidney. It also begins to help you learn that certain classes of chemicals can be recognized by their suffixes--the most immediate example is that words that end in "-ase" refer to enzymes. A cholinesterase is an enzyme that works on acetylcholine. This will also help because similar patterns can be seen in different drug groups (e.g., cephalosporin antibiotics usually have "ceph" or "kef" at the beginning, or sometimes within, the name.)

NurseFirst

z's playa · May 5, 2005

I don't know. I don't want to knock anyone who took it but I think its a waste of time myself. Do I have a knack for languages? Maybe but I still find it something you can easily learn as you go through the pages of any text in anatomy or pharm or even nsg for that matter. I think the course sounds like an excuse to further drain the pockets of students even more and I would never take it if it was offered as an elective. The definition in Latin or whatever, is given right next to any words etc right in the text so for me its enough.

Now yes........I'm sure there's some who took it and found it helpful...I am NOT saying it may not be helpful for some people...... this is just MY opinion.

Z

mauser · May 5, 2005

TAKE IT!

I have just completed my second semester as an RN student. I have been a medical transcriptionist for 28 years prior to this and know it would have been a lot harder had I not known the "words." I constantly am helping the other students with this foreign language of medicine. They tell me I am so lucky to have this background. The school offers a medical terminology course for its other medical programs - but does not REQUIRE it for the nurses.

Just my 2 cents.

SusanJean · May 5, 2005

I agree w/ those that say take the course. It was required for PA school but not for nursing school...

So I had the class. While classmates were struggling to memorize words I was able to break them down based upon what I had learned in Med Term class - made things so much easier.

paacollins · May 5, 2005

I just finished up A and P I and I had a pretty good knowledge of medical terminology going in. However, I never realized how "easy" it is to figure out medical terms if you break them down. My A and P book has the inside front and back covers dedicated to suffixes and prefixes of medical terms. I'm also considering taking medical terminology because it is something I am interested in and I think further study in the "foreign language" of medicine can only help me once I begin my nursing classes.

As for it being a useless class, some people may already have a good knowledge of medicine and it may, in fact, be a waste of time and money. For others who have no clue about medical terms, it could be a major help. It's like the Principles of Academic Success class I took many years ago. I was 26 years old and really didn't need any suggestions on note taking and good study habits. I did, however, learn a few things from the class and it was a very easy A. It was a refreshing break from honors bio, chem, and plane trig. lol For other students, mainly those right out of high school, it was a much needed class. I think it just depends on the student whether one needs a particular class or not.

nursepotter05, RN · May 5, 2005

Medical terminology was included in my Intro to Nursing class. I thought it was quite helpful.

hollyster · May 5, 2005

We did not have a choice it was a mandatory pre-req. Should be an easy summer class.

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · May 5, 2005

In my school if you fail your med. term. tests, you have to take the class over the summer otherwise it's not a requirement but I wish that it was. But I also believe there is no such thing as a wasted class or education either. Eventually it all ties in to what you do in the "real" world.

Good luck and take the class!!!