Medical Terminology class--useful?

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2012

During LPN school we had a medical terminology class. It was VERY helpful. When you have a basic understanding of roots, prefixes, suffixes etc you can normally very easily figure out what a word means or pertains to.

If its a required class for the nursing program it is a class you will have to take sooner or later. And I feel it would be more useful and needed prior to starting the nursing classes than during them. Just my $0.02.

ivikatasha · Apr 16, 2012

My nursing program doesn't require it. But before nursing school started I was stuck with nothing to do for a semester, so I took medical terminology. Mine was a 3 credit course. It helps sooooo much! I generally know what most medical terms means because of it, while people in my class that haven't taken the class or don't have a medical background have to look everything up.

sKris · Apr 16, 2012

Thanks for the insight. The class isn't required for the program I'm entering but I'm thinking it could definitely be helpful. My program is a one year second degree bachelors program and the first semester is 20 credits. I'm going to need any advantage I can get to stay on top of things.

Dharma21 · Apr 16, 2012

I am starting an ADN program in September 2012 and I was worried about not having had a medical terminology course (mine doesn't require it either) especially since I have no previous medically related experience.

The very first class we had to take for the Nursing Program, is Nursing Informatics and a big component of that class is medical terminology. We did not go over every single term in class, but it was also made clear that we would be responsible for learning that terminology and abbreviations as we would need them for the duration of the program as well as our future careers. Honestly, its a great deal of memorization to make it second nature.

In the end, I did not take the additional terminology course. I also understand that the terminology class had a great deal of content pertaining to insurance and coding for medical billing which nurses really do not need. I believe the information I have from my Informatics class will be fantastic. I just keep my flashcards out and run through the very large stack once a week to keep the information fresh. Maybe you should find out if your school has the same type of class before investing in a full blown class which might also contain a great deal of content that you are not really going to need.

I do wish I would have had the foresight to have taken the semester long First Aid and Personal Safety course at my leisure as I have to get my BLS certification anyway and that's just a one day class. I'm not really sweating it as I was a life guard in younger years. Its likely just me being me, but I think I would have felt better completing the semester long First Aid class instead of just a one day BLS course.

lovetosleep · Apr 16, 2012

Medical terminology was really helpful for me. I think you should take it.

BEW612 · Apr 16, 2012

Medical terminology was very helpful for me and I would recommend it. My class was online though, so it was basically reading the book and doing the book work which you could do on your own. We used the medical terminology book by Davi-Ellen Chabner. I think it was called The Language of Medicine. That one is very in depth and much more worthwhile than the other book she authored which is a short course version.

anonymousstudent · Apr 16, 2012

I have not had medical terminology and I've not had a problem. Just to give input from that perspecive.

BEW612 · Apr 17, 2012

I don't feel like not having it has created a huge problem for other people in my class, but they always have a lot more questions than I do related to terminology.

sKris · Apr 18, 2012

Thank you for all the helpful comments. I've decided to not actually take the class, but I ordered the book and materials and will study on my own. I figured since it's an online course there will be little to no actual instruction so I'd be learning on my own either way. The only benefit of the class then is specific deadlines to stick to. I would prefer to save the $160 and set my own deadlines. I'm a pretty motivated student so I think I will still get through the material.

WorkingTowardsBSN · Apr 18, 2012

I'm glad to hear you're going to at least do the studying on your own! I actually took two med term courses - one very, very basic, and one more advanced. I actually ended up taking them prior to taking my A&P courses, and I found they provided me with a good foundation for my A&P classes, so I can only imagine how much better I'll feel when I start my nursing program this fall.

There is no such thing as too much knowledge, so learn all you can! :coollook:

Nscorpiored, BSN · Apr 18, 2012

I am starting an ABSN program in August. All my prerequisite are finished (or will be in 3 weeks) so I don't need to take any summer classes. However, our comunity college offers a 1 credit, 6 week, online medical terminology class. The class is required for their nursing program and I was thinking it might be helpful to take before I start in the fall. Has anyone taken something similar? Was it worth it? Helpful? Unecessary? Thanks!

Yes I took a Medical Terminology class for my first BSHS and then took another one for my ABSN and was able to finish the course online in less than 2 weeks. Yes it is worth it because particular disorders, diseases, prefixes, suffixes, and terms are used and you are expected to know what they are and what they mean (i.e. myocardial infarction, ecchymosis)

It isn't a waste in the long run but the reality is I didn't feel like paying another $70 to do it and I wouldn't have if it wasn't required of me