LESSON 1

The importance of medical terminology in the healthcare industry

Why do healthcare professionals use medical terminologies that are difficult to
understand when they can just speak in English?
Well, just like English, medical terminologies are also universal to the
healthcare or medical industry. It’s their very own language and it helps them
understand completely what is happening or what has to be done to help a patient.
This language is not just limited to doctors, nurses and/or medical practitioners as it
is important for other workers in the healthcare industry to master it well – they may
include medical billers, medical coders, medical assistants and more. Workers in the
medical field who are not familiar with medical terms will be lost with their jobs and
even has the potential to hurt patients.
Medical terms are used to accurately describe the condition of the patient and the
treatment that he needs to undergo. Without proper training and knowledge with
terminology, the communication between healthcare workers may get confusing and
the patient might not get the proper treatment at the end.
A lot of professionals use these terms a lot (even though the condition or treatment
can be explained in English) as it can somehow hide some details about the patient’s
condition to help the family with emotions they may experience. Without proper
training and knowledge in this field, worker in the healthcare industry will not be
effective. Proper education about medical terms can bring the following benefits:
Standardized communication between professionals – standard terms helps healthcare
professionals understand patient’s condition and issue and helps them decipher
complex information that makes their diagnosis more accurate. Basically, it helps
them answer the following questions:
o   Why is the patient in the hospital?
o   What needs to be done to help the patient?
·        Easy documentation and communication – medical terms uses abbreviations and
terms that can be longer when translated or described in plain English. As medical
practitioners deal with many patients in the day to day basis, they are required to
make a lot of documentations and since medical terms are standard, those
abbreviations will still be understandable by other medical practitioners.
·        Avoid errors – not properly communicating or documenting medical records of a
patient may get them in trouble and even bigger health risks. Medical terms helps
describe the medical history of a patient through medical records and these records
tells other healthcare professionals details that can help them diagnose the patient
more accurately and provide the right treatments. Example: A doctor that learns that
a patient is under certain medications or has been through certain medical
procedures before, he would have a good idea on things like if there are medicine
that should not be used.
Working in the medical industry does have a lot of benefits but it has a lot of
responsibilities as well. If you are an aspiring healthcare professional, choose now the
medical career you want to pursue and get all training and education needed to
achieve your dream profession.

 
Hippocratic oath, ethical code attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates,
adopted as a guide to conduct by the medical profession throughout the ages and
still used in the graduation ceremonies of many medical schools. Although little is
known of the life of Hippocrates—or, indeed, if he was the only practitioner of the
time using this name—a body of manuscripts, called the Hippocratic Collection
(Corpus Hippocraticum), survived until modern times. In addition to containing
information on medical matters, the collection embodied a code of principles for the
teachers of medicine and for their students. This code, or a fragment of it, has been
handed down in various versions through generations of physicians as the
Hippocratic oath.

The oath dictates the obligations of the physician to students of medicine and the
duties of pupil to teacher. In the oath, the physician pledges to prescribe only
beneficial treatments, according to his abilities and judgment; to refrain from causing
harm or hurt; and to live an exemplary personal and professional life.
The text of the Hippocratic Oath (c. 400 bc) provided below is a translation from
Greek by Francis Adams (1849). It is considered a classical version and differs from
contemporary versions, which are reviewed and revised frequently to fit with
changes in modern medical practice.
I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and all the
gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath
and this stipulation—to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to me as my
parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities if required; to
look upon his offspring in the same footing as my own brothers, and to teach them
this Art, if they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and that by precept,
lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art to
my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and
oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others. I will follow that system of
regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my
patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no
deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner
I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and with
holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not cut persons laboring under
the stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work.
Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will
abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further from the
seduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves. Whatever, in connection with
my professional practice or not, in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men,
which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such
should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be
granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men, in all
times! But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot!