Medical terminology class or not?

1. I am trying to decide if a medical terminology class would be worth my time or not before starting nursing school next fall.
   
   At my school it is not a pre-req so I would think that if they though we needed it they would require it ya know?
   
   What is your opinion. Would the class *really* benifit me? I have no medical background either.
   
   I know this has been asked before but I wanted to ask again.
   
   Marilyn

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2. 

   About marilynmom

   Joined: Feb '03; Posts: 2,165; Likes: 385
   Adolescent psych
   Specialty: Adolescent Psych, PICU

   24 Comments

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3. 
   Jul 30, '03

   Yes, yes, yes, yes. It will be by far the most helpful class you can take.
   
   Teresa
4. 
   Jul 30, '03

   Yes, by all means yes. I took mine twenty years ago and it still comes in helpful in deciphering long medical words............by taking each part of the word and knowing what it means by itself you can come up with a close idea of what the WHOLE twenty letter word means!!!!!!!!
5. 
   Jul 30, '03

   Yes, I took med term over the summer, it's going to help you.
6. 
   Jul 30, '03

   YES!!! I think it is stupid that they don't require it at several schools, mine being one of those.... I had past medical experiance so I knew it, but SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many in the class had NO clue....
7. 
   Jul 30, '03

   WE have a medical terminology class being offered at my hospital but i'm still debating on taking it even if it is free
   it'll be 3 hours every wednesday, and this fall i'll already have a 6 hour classroom day.
8. 
   Jul 30, '03

   I agree, take the medical terminology class, especially if you aren't familiar with medical terms. I worked as a CNA for years and picked up a lot of medical terms then, so I opted not to take the class. Good Luck.
9. 
   Jul 30, '03

   Our Instructors have constantly said from the very first day of orientation (and STILL stress constantly!) - "Med Term will help you in every single class you have and throughout your entire career" - I can't comment on the "throughout your career" part of their statement cause I am not there yet, but it sure has saved me in a number of classes thus far!
10. 
    Jul 30, '03

    Wonder if there is a way i can get the info from the class and do my own home-study thing with it. Nine hours in a classroom setting, i'll need a donut pillow to survive!! But i think that it might benefit me to take the class anyway though
11. 
    Jul 30, '03

    I actually took Med Term without going to class - it was a self-study. So, if you don't need the credits, by all means just get the book and study it. Otherwise, check and see if any local schools offer it as a telecourse.
    
    The book we used was great...it was called "Exploring Medical Language" by Myrna LaFleur Brooks. I ordered it from Barnes or Amazon. And yes, yes, yes, yes it will help you. I took it 3 years ago and wow! amazing how much it helps me in nursing school compared to classmates who have never had it. I can figure out most new words just by breaking them down and determining what each part means.
12. 
    Jul 30, '03

    I took Med Term last semester over the internet from my local CC. It was really good and really helpful so far. I don't really have any medical background either, which is why I took med term. I would totally recommend it.
13. 
    Jul 30, '03

    Well I am the oddball here. I never took it and never needed it. They taught things like that as part of the nursing program. I say no but like I said I am the oddball.
    
    Do what you think is best for you.
    
    renerian
14. 
    Jul 30, '03

    My school doesn't require it either. I've looked at a couple of books at books-a-million that looked cool, but I also did a search for med. term tutorials on google and found all kinds of good stuff. I think i'm gonna go that route, but that's just me

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