Should I take Medical Terminology for nursing school?

Leonardsmom,LPN · Mar 19, 2015

If you are unfamiliar with medical terminology, I definitely think it would help to prepare you for things that you will need to know going trough the program. At my school medical terminology is not a required prerequisite for the nursing program. If you take the class however, you are waived from taking the medical terminology quizzes that you would need to take during the program without the class. For me definitely worth taking the class this summer, it is one less thing that may possibly cause me stress during my first semester of the program. I have been working as a CNA for over 7 years now, so there is a lot of medical terminology that I have been exposed to and am familiar with, but I do expect that there is also going to be material that I haven't seen yet. Better to get acquainted with it now while things are not as intense as it can get when in a nursing program

tbrymmml · Mar 19, 2015

I'm taking Medical Terminology in the summer. Although it is not required I think it will be beneficial in nursing school.

ShelbyaStar · Mar 19, 2015

I took it when taking my prereqs, mainly just to get myself to part time status.

Eh. Only slightly helpful. I probably wouldn't bother if I didn't have to.

SierraBravo · Mar 19, 2015

Since you're an EMT it is likely going to be a waste of money. You'll learn what you need to know in nursing school.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 20, 2015

If you think it will help your GPA then take it. Otherwise it's unnecessary since you will learn the terms as you go along.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 20, 2015

We had the option to take it before nursing school or during our first semester. Was definitely worth it to take it before starting nursing school. YMMV

sweetbriar · Mar 20, 2015

MT is a required pre-req for the program I'm looking at, so I took it last Fall. I thought it was a super fun, super easy class and it gets your feet wet. It won't hurt anything to take it -- what's not to love about getting more education? :)

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2015

I never regretted taking my medical terminology class. Medical words will be thrown around in class like confetti at a Macy's parade, it's helpful to know what they mean.

mirandaaa · Mar 20, 2015

I took MedTerm last semester and I'm so so so happy I did. Although it wasn't required, I took it and it made a world of difference. It was very helpful in my other classes like A&P and when nursing school does come along, you'll have a general knowledge of what's being talked about.

It's nice that all the prefixes, word roots, and suffixes are broken down so you can see what they all mean and once you get some memorized it becomes super easy to piece them together.

Although these are terms you will learn in school, it's always nice to have a headstart :)

dienw · Mar 20, 2015

Didn't you have a bunch of medical terminology on your EMT test? Can you get a copy of the textbook and skim it to see if it is too basic? It seems like it might be a waste of time and money with your specific background.

Have you considered that other subjects might be a better use of your time than medical terminology? iTunesU has free nursing podcasts. Check these out https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/basic-nursing-theory-nur-3952/id396989000?mt=10 to see if you are interested. I'm not at all suggesting that you should study this summer. If you've already made the decision to study, I'm suggesting that there are other options to consider including completely free ones.

Others might suggest that the best summer preparation for nursing school is to have a vacation, spend time with friends and at the beach because you may find yourself with little spare time during school. Different people need different things.

RunnerRN2015, ASN, RN · Mar 20, 2015

My school required it.