About Medical Terminology Course

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MedicineNutt

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Is Medical Terminology a standard prerequisite? if it isn't would you recommend it to an aspiring physician or health professional? I am in a small predicament of choosing this class for the summer...any suggestions/advice are welcomed!!! :)

Would it be better if I wait until say med school or whatever? don't they teach you it in grad school?

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That class would be a big waste of your time. If you want to take a class that will help - take Spanish.
 
Flopotomist said:
That class would be a big waste of your time. If you want to take a class that will help - take Spanish.
LOL really?? wow...took 2 years of it in highschool !!! esp with the growing amount of hispanics...i guess it would be a good move to take that class...i'll definitely put that on my list of consideration
 
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Yes, spanish is a good course but if you need (or want) to take something in a science-related field, the take medical terminology. I took it in my senior year, and it was one of my favorite, most informative, and interesting courses.
good luck...Mo
 
I'd vote for taking a foreign language that is applicable to your patient group. You will always learn the terminology as a physician, but as a physician it is your duty to be able to effectively communicate with your patients, not throw jargon that they may or may not understand.

Besides if you want to learn terminology, then take something along the lines of general pathology. At least then you can learn the process of disease and apply the terminology to that.
 
If you want terminology just look up med term books out there and learn it yourself. Don't waste your money on it. Take a foreign language. Bilinguals are high in demand.
 
McOrn11 said:
Yes, spanish is a good course but if you need (or want) to take something in a science-related field, the take medical terminology. I took it in my senior year, and it was one of my favorite, most informative, and interesting courses.

I really agree with this. I took it my senior year of college and it was super easy. You'd be surprised how much it helps with learning anatomy and with easing into the rush of Latin and Greek that will be thrown your way over the next 4 years. I recommend doing it.
 
Here is my .02 cents.

Medical terminolgy is of tremendous benefit to anyone going into the medical field. After all, it really is akin to a foreign language.

However, medical terminiology is something that is very conducive to self study, if you are motivated.

Spanish or any other foreigh language is best learned from someone who knows it (read, in a classroom setting) and would look very good on your application.

-Mike
 
Flopotomist said:
That class would be a big waste of your time. If you want to take a class that will help - take Spanish.

My medical terminology class is the reason why I have excelled in medical school. Knowing the prefixes, suffixes, and root words of medicine allows you to obtain the answer with minimal background information.

You are giving poor advice here.

On a side note, medical Spanish is offered at my school anyway.


P.S. With all of that being said, it is rare for pre-meds to take a medical terminology course. Mine was part of my vocational training unrelated to pre-med.
 
In either case, you're going to learn the language (medical or Spanish) better by being immersed in it. The people I know who've been to Spanish speaking countries know it way better than me. Similarly, you use the terms in med school, so you learn them.
 
I took it in college and it was unbelievably easy. It was more an exercise in Latin and Greek than Spanish from what I remember. If you don't take it, no big deal since terminology is a cinch to pick up once you enter med school. And if you read enough, many etymologies and word roots you should know anyway.

If you want an easy 'A,' take it. I'd recommend taking Spanish anyway.
 
MedicineNutt said:
Is Medical Terminology a standard prerequisite? if it isn't would you recommend it to an aspiring physician or health professional? I am in a small predicament of choosing this class for the summer...any suggestions/advice are welcomed!!! :)

Would it be better if I wait until say med school or whatever? don't they teach you it in grad school?


I assume we will pick it up.... remember orgo?
 
OSUdoc08 said:
My medical terminology class is the reason why I have excelled in medical school. Knowing the prefixes, suffixes, and root words of medicine allows you to obtain the answer with minimal background information.

You are giving poor advice here.

On a side note, medical Spanish is offered at my school anyway.


P.S. With all of that being said, it is rare for pre-meds to take a medical terminology course. Mine was part of my vocational training unrelated to pre-med.

Assuming that the OP performs decently in an academic setting, there is no reason to believe that s/he will need to sit in a formal classroom setting and learn things that s/he can easily learn as s/he goes while in medical school. I may be giving different advice than you, but I wouldn't say that it was poor advice. My opinion is that taking a course designed primarily for billing clerks is completely unnecessary to succeeding in medical school, and that time spent sitting in a class being lectured to on the difference between medial and lateral would be better spent learning a foreign language.
 
Flopotomist said:
Assuming that the OP performs decently in an academic setting, there is no reason to believe that s/he will need to sit in a formal classroom setting and learn things that s/he can easily learn as s/he goes while in medical school. I may be giving different advice than you, but I wouldn't say that it was poor advice. My opinion is that taking a course designed primarily for billing clerks is completely unnecessary to succeeding in medical school, and that time spent sitting in a class being lectured to on the difference between medial and lateral would be better spent learning a foreign language.
I agree.

Immersion is great once you know the basics of a language (at least 2+ years in my opinion). But knowing how to write and converse you can still practice. Med Tech was a waste of money. Learn it on your own b/c you'll learn it anyways in med school. Why are you going to pay for something you can learn on your own?
 
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