Decoding Medical Terminology for Nursing Students

NICOLE MCALLISTER & TARYN TAVENER-SMITH

Medical terminology is a language entwined into the very fabric of the healthcare professions. It is used daily by healthcare professionals to communicate precisely about the anatomical structures of the human body, its processes, diseases, conditions, diagnostic procedures, and treatment. Nursing students are expected to master this language, but often the support available to them is limited and the resources for self-study are largely traditional. While acquiring medical terminology is particularly challenging, proficiency in its use is critical for effective patient care. Thus, dedicating time to teaching these skills to comprehend and gain confidence with medical terms is central to students’ success.

The Medical Terminology study is progressing into its third year at Buckinghamshire New University. This study comprises three distinctive phases since its conception in December 2020. Phase one of this project comprised an initial pilot study, which took place in April 2021 with a sample of 16 undergraduate Nursing Associate Apprenticeship (NAA) students. The aim was to establish the impact of a virtual, shortterm, Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL) intervention on students’ ability to accurately decode medical terms and determine students’ perspectives on the value of learning medical terminology to their academic success and professional practice. Pre- and post-assessments were completed by all participants and quantitative analysis was performed using SPSS to assess impact. An anonymous, online questionnaire was shared with all participants to understand their perspectives on the value of learning medical terminology and the instructional tools and materials used in the intervention.

Results indicated that participants’ post-assessment results were significantly higher than those obtained in the pre-assessment. Overall, participants’ results increased on average by 5 marks, indicating a 20% gain following the 3-week teaching intervention.

responsive and adaptive called ‘MediLingo’.

Phase three of this research will commence in January 2023, with the planned recruitment of a sample of 45 RNDA Nursing students to pilot the MediLingo prototype to ascertain students’ perceptions and engagement with the app, while determining its impact on their medical vocabulary. The research to date has focussed purely on learner impact and perspectives, it would be interesting in the future to investigate the impact of the medical terminology mobile app on nursing lecturers and gather their perspectives