Patrice Nunnari, a RN student at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, says her medical terminology strategy is simple. "As I'm reading, I always have a medical dictionary with me," she says. Nunnari says that having prior exposure to terminology is also helpful. She worked in a hospital before nursing school and said that has given her an advantage.
Lynette Berger, a medical assistant graduate of ETI Technical College of Niles, near Youngstown, Ohio, says learning the word parts made medical terminology easier for her. She said once she learned, for example, that the word part "osteo" means bone, any time she sees a word with "osteo" in it, she knows she is dealing with the skeletal system.
If a person can pronounce a medical term, it is easier to spell and learn. In her textbook "Comprehensive Medical Terminology," Betty Davis Jones writes that it is necessary to "incorporate a few pronunciation rules and guidelines to help you pronounce the words correctly." Some of these guidelines include knowing that words beginning with the letters z or x (like zygote or xanthoma) both make the "z" sound or that when the letter c is followed by a vowel, the word will start with a hard "c" sound (like cancer) but if the c is followed by an e, then a soft "c" sound will result (as in cervix).
Jones also writes that playing games is a great way to learn medical terminology. The CD-ROM for her textbook includes board games and pronunciation games. Students can also create their own games, like hangman to practice spelling, and BINGO or crossword puzzles to practice definitions. Students can play the games with teachers, one another, or even enlist friends and family members to help.
Medical terminology is often taught by body system. For each system, make flash cards to help you study. Write the word or word part on the front of the card and write the answer on the back of the card. At first you will look at a word or word part and guess the definition, then check the opposite side of the card to see if you are correct. The goal is to eventually know the definition without having to check. This happens with repetitive study. Enlist the help of a fellow student, a friend, or a family member to track your progress.