Medical Terminology

This course is perfect for anyone wishing to work in a medical or health related environment such as medical reception, medical sales or support, natural therapies, doctor's surgeries and administration. 

You can study the the medical terminology course on its own, or if you wish, you can even bundle the Course with a Certificate or Diploma.

Workplacment

With many employers increasingly looking for experience as well as academic achievement in candidates for their positions, work placements have an increasing importance in gaining a good job.

Undertaking a work placement can offer you plenty of real benefits for progressing into your chosen career.

• Practical experience in the industry you wish to work in
  
  Regardless of how much you think you have learned about your chosen career from your studies you will learn so much information and acquire so many skills from a work placement. You can never be really clued up on what a job entails until you have been working practically in that role.
  
  
• Improved job opportunities
  
  Increasingly employers are looking for people with practical experience as well as academic achievements. Work placements offer the perfect opportunity to gain this kind of experience whilst still studying. An employer seeing any work placements on your CV will be more likely to consider you for the position.
  
  In higher education there is an option of doing a sandwich course where your studies will be 'sandwiched' around a work placement which often last a full year. This kind of course is ideal for matching academic learning with hands on experience on the job.

• Experience of teamwork and development of interpersonal skills
  
  Your ability to work in a team and with your colleagues around you is essential in every type of job. In a work environment this involves a different set of skills and challenges that you will be used to at school, college or university.
  
  A work placement will allow you to gain experience of this first hand and develop you own teamwork and interpersonal skills which will make you a more rounded and attractive candidate for any employer.

• Awareness of current developments in the sector
  
  A work placement will allow you to question and work with people who work in your chosen career. They will be able to give you a good and personal insight into what the job entails and what has been developing in the industry. This kind of direct and specialist knowledge will often set you apart from other candidates looking for a job.

• More placement student go onto achieve higher grades and better degrees
  
  The additional skills and knowledge gained during a work placement can often be directly applied to your studies and applied correctly can lead to better grades. This in turn will help you progress to the next stage of your career path more effectively.

• Chance of a firm offer of employment
  
  Performing well on a work placement can often lead to a firm job offer at the end of it and regardless of this the contacts acquired and networking done during a placement will have put you in contact with people who may well be able to help you enter and progress into your chosen career.

With knowledge and increased awareness of medical terms, students are able to progress  with ease into other courses in science and human health.

The first step toward awork in medical administration is to learn to speak and write medical language.  Graduates from this course may go on to work in any of the following situations:

• Secretary Receptionist duties for a doctor or allied health professional
• Ward Clerk in a hospital
• Medical Insurance Officer
• Marketing officer for a medical supply company
• Speakers of English as a second language who work in this area e.g. nurses

There is a logical system to the way most medical terms are constructed. If you can learn to understand the system, you will have a foundation that will enable you to de-construct and understand the meanings of both familiar, and unfamiliar medical words.

This is a more extensive course than some other medical terminology courses, but the duration of 100 hours is considered necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject, and to get to a point where deciphering medical words becomes "second nature" and is a skill that will remain embedded in your subconscious. 

• What is Medical Terminology
• Origins of Words
• Structure of Words
• Medical Prefixes
• Medical Suffixes
• Constructing Medical Terms by altering prefix or suffix

2. Anatomical Structure

• Anatomical Prefixes
• Anatomical Suffixes
• Locating parts of the body
• Terms to indicate positioning of anatomical features in body
• Acronyms
• Symbols

3. Medical Equipment and Procedures Terminology

• Terms to describe Diagnostic and Surgical Procedures
• Terms to describe Medical Equipment
• Storage and Handling of Medicines
• Sterilising Equipment
• Terms to describe Bacteria
• Gram Staining
• Diagnostic Microbiology
• Research Microbiology
• Types of Wounds
• Problems Resulting from Wounds
• Treating Wounds
• Electrolytes
• Examples of Prefixes and Suffixes

4. Pharmacological Terminology

• Types of herbal and pharmaceutical medicines (eg. Alkaloids, Calmatives, Cathartics, Decongestants, Expectorants, etc)
• Pharmacological Terms (eg. Allergens, Carcinogens, Photosensitisers, Toxic Alkaloids, etc)
• Over the Counter Prescription Drugs
• Terminology for OTC and Prescription Drugs (eg. Steroids, Barbiturates, anti-Psychotic Drugs etc)
• Prefix and suffix examples

5. Musculoskeletal System Terminology

• Naming main muscles
• Musculature –Types of Muscle tissue
• Relationship between muscles and bone
• Bone and Joint problems (eg. Sprains, Broken Bones, etc)
• Disorders of musculoskeletal System (eg. Fibromyalgia, Sprains, strains, Cramp, etc)
• Suffix Examples

6. Cardiovascular, Lymphatic and Immune Systems Terminology

• Parts of the Heart
• Circulation
• Systole and Disystole
• Terms related to Disorders of Cardiovascular System
• Lymphatic System and Immunity
• Leucocytes
• Vaccination
• Immunity
• Disorders of Immunity
• Suffix and Prefix Examples

• Lungs
• Respiration
• Pulmonary Circulation
• Gas Exchange (Diffusion, Perfusion, Arterial Pressure)
• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
• Diagnostic Procedures for Lungs and Airways
• Respiratory Disorders
• Male Reproductive System (Penis, Testes, Scrotum etc)
• Female Reproductive System
• Pregnancy
• Parturation
• Caesarian Section, VBAC and Multiple Gestation
• Premature Birth and Miscarriage
• Reproductive Disorders (eg. Amenorrhoea, Menorhagia, PCOS, Endometriosis, etc)
• Suffix and Prefix Examples

8. Digestive and Excretory Systems Terminology

• Parts of the Digestive System
• Renal System
• Kidneys
• Ureters and Bladder
• Urethra
• Disorders of Digestive and Renal Systems (eg. Anal Fissure, Haemorrhoids, Inflammatory Bowel System, Kidney Stones, Pancreatitis, etc)
• Suffix and Prefix Examples

9. Integumentary System (Skin) Terminology

• Thermoregulation
• Electrolytes
• Types of Sensory Nerves
• Sun Protection
• Intergument Structure
• Cell Types
• Disorders (eg. Scab, Atrophic skin, Abrasion, Excoriation, Scar, Ulcer, etc)
• Diagnostic Procedures
• Suffix and Prefix Examples

10. Nervous and Sensory Systems Terminology

• Brain
• Central Nervous System
• Peripheral Nervous System
• Disorders of Nervous System
• Disorders of Sensory System (eg. Aphasia, Apraxia, Vertigo, etc)
• Diagnostic Procedures
• Suffix and Prefix Examples

• Communicate clearly and effectively using medical terminology
• Explain the scope and nature of terminology used in medicine and allied professions.
• Identify the meaning of words that describe general anatomical features, including disorders
• Identify the meaning of words which describe medical tools, equipment and procedures.
• Identify the meaning of words that describe pharmacological terms.
• Identify the meaning of words that describe physiological and anatomical features in the musculoskeletal system, including disorders.
• To identify the meaning of words that describe physiological and anatomical features in the respiratory and reproductive systems, including disorders.
• To identify the meaning of words that describe physiological and anatomical features in the digestive and excretory systems, including disorders.
• Identify the meaning of words that describe physiological and anatomical features in the nervous and sensory systems, including disorders

For more information on this course including entry requirments and study modes, please request your free course information pack or call 1300 560 659 to talk with a qualified careers advisor.