Why is the effective use of medical terminology essential to the performance of job duties?

Question

I have to write a one-page paper on this and it's a pain. The sites they are telling me to use aren't giving me the information that I need.

Answer 1

Lives depend on the effective use of medical terminology. One slip of the dr's tongue when ordering meds for a patient can kill. Nurses who grab the wrong bottle in the pharmacy can kill. It has happened before.

Answer 2

It is important that all of us in medicine are speaking the same language to avoid confusion and errors.

That's why all the body parts have names (it's "uvula", not "little hangy down thing in the back of the throat", for example) and each medication must be spelled out properly (to avoid giving Heparin instead of Hespan - I saw a nurse do that once).

For surgical procedures, it's important to record exactly what was done so that other doctors can rely on that information in caring for the patient at a later date. There's a big difference between "nephrostomy" and "nephrectomy", for example (The former drains the kidney, the latter removes it)

Come on, it's one page. Put on your thinking cap and just do it.

Answer 3

Why do you need to write a paper on THIS? Why do you need to write a paper on something that's common sense? It's common sense that, if you're in the medical field, knowledge of the terminology is required in order to understand all aspects of your job.

Answer 4

Precision and transferability. You can be very precise in the description using medical terms, and a doctor in Canada can tell a doctor in Malaysia this, and the information is the same. There is nothing lost in translation.

Answer 5

Endocarditis. Endo-means inside, cardi-means heart, itis-condition or infection. If you were gonna use this in plain english it will be"The inside of the heart is infected." too much word when you can use just one word-Endocarditis. In just one word you already know the condition,size,color,location,infection of the word. It's easier to use. Imagine if nurses and doctors were to write in a chart, it will be a lot of words to write if we don't use medical terminology.

Answer 6

I should think that when you document medical history or test results etc... Your words have to speak for themselves and not have a chance to be misinterpreted. Makes perfect sense for me!