Medical Assistants Learning Medical Terminology

As with anything in life, persistent study and practice is what makes your knowledge of medical terms stronger. There are various methods, which can be utilised, and all are successful in their own way. The more methods you can use to learn medical terminology, the better understanding you will have. Below are various methods, which can be used.


Aural
There are many software programs, which you can use to study medical terms via the aural method. These programs will have most terms on a CD, which are played with an interval, which allows you to repeat the term. It then gives you the definition of that term. Over time, you will benefit by this study method as it allows you to leave the books and concentrate on the terms, their correct pronunciation, and their meanings.


Internet
The Internet has many online medical terminology dictionaries and resources. The majority of these are free which will allow you to practice effectively. These resources will usually cover all of medical terminology reviews consisting of:

· Prefixes
· Suffixes
· Root Words
· Medical Terms
· Medical Abbreviations
· Medical Definitions
· Surgical Abbreviations
· Diagnostic Abbreviations


Medical Dictionaries
Dictionaries such as the Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health have a dedicated section on Medical terminology. It assists with the breaking down of combining forms, roots or stems, prefixes and suffixes of a term. There is also the option of online medical dictionaries found on the Internet.

Mosby’s Medical terminology is categorised under:

Prefixes Suffixes Roots and combining forms in external anatomy Roots and combining forms in internal anatomy Greek and Latin verbal derivatives Greek and Latin adjectival derivatives Miscellaneous words and combining forms.


Flash/Cue Cards
One of the best methods of learning terminology is to use Flash cards, which has the term on one side and the definition on the other side. There is software, which will allow you to enter your own terms and definitions and will work based on random selections.


Writing the term down
After some time, the student will be able to recognise enough terms and their definitions to begin writing them down. Another person calling out either the term or the definition can assist via this method. The student is then able to recall their medical terminology knowledge. This is one of the best methods as it allows tests to take place.


Anatomical specific
Another method is to select an anatomical part of the body and write down or verbalise as many terms pertaining to that part of the body. This will enhance your body specific knowledge greatly.