Alternatively, the faculty can give students a card with a medical term as they enter the room. As students sit down, have them independently define the term on their card. As soon as class is convened, ask students to share their terms and their definitions, either in pairs, small groups, or with the entire class. This provides students with the opportunity to pronounce the word correctly in front of others and define the term. As these terms are shared, other members of the class have the opportunity to hear pronunciations and definitions. These activities can also be used when students are online together at the same time via an online meeting space such as Zoom or Teams. “Speaking” Medical Terminology The exercise,” Speaking” Medical Terminology gives students an opportunity to use medical terminology in a clinical scenario. In a face-to-face classroom environment, divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a slip of paper that describes a clinical experience. For example, “A patient has been diagnosed with cardiac tamponade. The symptoms are hypotension, tachycardia, cyanosis of lips and fingers, diaphoresis, and paradoxical pulse. The patient will have an emergency pericardiocentesis.” One student will read the written statement, concentrating on correct pronunciation. The second student will explain the meaning of the text without using medical terminology. After both have completed their assignments, the pair will reflect on each other’s performance, making suggestions for improvement. Faculty may develop their own phrases or use clinical descriptions from resource materials, such as exercises found in Medical Language Lab. This exercise may also be used in an online class. The faculty member might email or text the clinical scenario to students and student pairs could communicate by telephone, text, or email at their convenience. Translating Medical Terminology The Translating Medical Terminology exercise can be used in a face-to-face class as an exercise or as a pop quiz. The instructor reads short clinical scenarios which include medical terminology, such as: § “A pulse oximetry probe may be used on a patient with peripheral vasoconstriction.” § “Lab Findings: gram stain of the material showed the presence of both intercellular and extracellular gram- negative diplococci. Neisseria gonorrheal grown in the culture.” Students will listen to the medical terminology spoken and write the terms down, correctly spelling and defining them. Resources such as Medical Language Lab include clinical scenarios that can be used in this exercise. Students or faculty may grade this work. Simulated Patient Reports Simulated patient reports such as a History and Physical or Discharge Summary can also be found in Medical Language Lab and will provide students with life-like situations. Ask students either individually or in small groups (in a face-to-face class or online) to identify medical terminology in the report, defining all terms. Translating Patient Complaints into Medical Terminology Patients are often overwhelmed by the medical jargon they encounter in the healthcare system. They use layman’s language to describe their complaints. While the healthcare professional may know exactly what the patient is describing, these descriptions need to be translated into medical terminology when entered in the patient’s record. The following type of exercise can help students make translations from “patient-speak” to “medical-speak.” Provide students with a scenario where patients describe their symptoms in layman’s terms. For example: Mrs. P, an 85-year-old female has the following complaint: “Since last night, I have had bad pain when I pee. The pee looks sorta red. I think I must have a fever, but I don’t have a thermometer. The small part of my back is really hurting too. Maybe I strained it working in the garden. The last time I went to the clinic, they said I had high sugar.” Ask students to transfer the patient description into appropriate medical terminology. This type of exercise could be implemented in either a face-to-face or online class.
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