Med Terminology

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gmartin0814

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Hey all, I just went through my EMT-B class, overall it was a good class, but I still have a couple questions being as the class was super basic. The Class Taught the basic things you need to, but really didnt go into any detail, and im super confused!!!

If anybody can help me out id appreciate it!! Things like angina, and acute and other words that describe an illness. I just dont understand what they mean?!?! Also, anything that has to do with the heart,clueless!!! They never went into any detail about the meanings. The class mentioned words, but that was it. If anybody can help explain this and any other common words I need to know I would appreciate it alot!!! Im just trying to better myself before I go out and look for a job. Thanks!
 
gmartin0814 said:
Hey all, I just went through my EMT-B class, overall it was a good class, but I still have a couple questions being as the class was super basic. The Class Taught the basic things you need to, but really didnt go into any detail, and im super confused!!!

If anybody can help me out id appreciate it!! Things like angina, and acute and other words that describe an illness. I just dont understand what they mean?!?! Also, anything that has to do with the heart,clueless!!! They never went into any detail about the meanings. The class mentioned words, but that was it. If anybody can help explain this and any other common words I need to know I would appreciate it alot!!! Im just trying to better myself before I go out and look for a job. Thanks!
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Does your book not have a glossary?
 
the book itself does have a glossary, but it explains nothing to me!! I have looked a few times for a few words, again, its really basic!!! I just cant get the hang of it.
 
Take a medical terminology class?

Acute generally means sudden onset, in contrast with chronic, which means over time.

Acute MI would mean the patient is having an active and/or evolving heart attack.
 
gmartin0814 said:
the book itself does have a glossary, but it explains nothing to me!! I have looked a few times for a few words, again, its really basic!!! I just cant get the hang of it.
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Yeah, like they said. The internet's pretty good, but if you get medical dictionary, you can keep it with you at all times. You're going to need it when you come across medical conditions, diagnoses, medications, pt presentations, etc that will just stump you. We all do. I am the king of forgetting the painfully obvious. Get a dictionary and keep it with you. You'll be thankful you did.
 
daedalus, that is exactly what im talking about, that is where i get confused.what you said actually helped out alot!! Now i just need to know anything and everything about the heart!
 
thats a good idea what you said. Ill get a dictionary and med term book and just throw it in my bookbag and keep it with me!! that will def. help if i were to get stumped while on a call!! Thanks you guys!!! Your all awesome!!
 
"Overall it was a good class", yet it did not define terms such as angina or acute???


Shakes head and walks away...
 
i guess i should say,good class practical wise. I feel like I could do any practical we were givin with no problem. That was drilled into our heads. As far as terminology goes, HORRIBLE!!! Thats why im trying to get all the info i need before i take NREMT and get a job!!!
 
gmartin0814 said:
thats a good idea what you said. Ill get a dictionary and med term book and just throw it in my bookbag and keep it with me!! that will def. help if i were to get stumped while on a call!! Thanks you guys!!! Your all awesome!!
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Take the med term book with you on shifts. It's a work book so do it in your down time. ^_^
 
Sure. I forgot to add, a chronic condition may be something like hypertension. This can be a problem over time that the patient will be treated on an outpatient basis with oral medication. Hypertension can also become an acute issue, what is called a hypertensive crisis. This may require inpatient care.
 
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It also helps to read A&P book oriented towards healthcare providers. I bought one and now read it on my own (pretty entertaining, actually); many of these books explain some basic pathophysiology behind AMI, CVA and other conditions you may see as an EMT.
 
Also get a dictionary with the Greek and Latin origins of medical terms. If you have some idea of the origins of words, that will help you figure out terms you might not have heard before.

What about the heart did you not get? Maybe one of us can give you some mnemonics or something to help you remember.
 
Gobbledegook

gmartin0814 said:
Hey all, I just went through my EMT-B class, overall it was a good class, but I still have a couple questions being as the class was super basic. The Class Taught the basic things you need to, but really didnt go into any detail, and im super confused!!!

If anybody can help me out id appreciate it!! Things like angina, and acute and other words that describe an illness. I just dont understand what they mean?!?! Also, anything that has to do with the heart,clueless!!! They never went into any detail about the meanings. The class mentioned words, but that was it. If anybody can help explain this and any other common words I need to know I would appreciate it alot!!! Im just trying to better myself before I go out and look for a job. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Before you wade into medical terms about diseases and structures its a good starting point to learn the prefix and suffix to terms. Examples include hyper, hypo, brady and tachy, osteo, aemia,etc.

When you attach them to conditions it gives you a small starting point but a good one nonetheless. Like HypoGlycaemia - "hypo" meaning low, "glyco" (glyc-the o) meaning sugar and "aemia" meaning blood. So low blood sugars.

Another: Hyponatraemia - hypo - low, "{na" (Na - the symbol for sodium -remember your school science?) and once again "aemia" - blood. So all together it means low sodium in the blood.

One more: Hypovolaemia -hypo - low, "vol" for volume and yet again "aemia" for blood. So ........low blood volume. Does that make sense?

So add the prefixes and suffixes to your list!

Hope that helps a little as well. It all seems daunting at first. Once you start adding them to your day to day vocabulary they will become second nature.

And one more thing - you don't have too know all of them at once. Remember medicine is as big as the Larsen B Ice Shelf and always changing.

Cheers and good luck in the exams!

MM
 
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Incredible.

Repeated exposure to terminology in context is needed.
You seem to be trying for a quickie path to medical knowledge. No, you can't throw the dictionary into yor bag and use it on runs, and that seems a little disingenuous to me. Suggest you take the text and re-read it like a sort of boring but really essential novel. When you come to a mental "snag", then stop and look it up. Every time.
 
Welcome to EMS. What you describe is pretty much a standard EMT-B course, unfortunately it is still the same in many paramedic courses. In EMS the goal of most courses is to teach you the "skills" you need to know and give you enough information to figure out when to use them, then you can legally work in the field as an EMT. Once you're done with the class you're on your own to learn medicine. There were several good ideas posted here so I can't add much to it except be wary of the internet. It is a great resource with tons of good information out there but for every piece of good information there is ten times as much terrible or flat out wrong information. I prefer books and am working on building a pretty nice collection of medical books that fill in a lot of the voids I've been noticing.

The medical terminology class is a good idea and can cover a big chunk of your CME's.
 
what melbourne said is exactly what I am talking about. The breaking down of words is what really helps me out. I am going to take a med term class over the summer to help out also!! Thanks
 
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