Health Science:

Medical Terminology Curriculum Change Rationale

Currently, we use an inherited Dean Vaughn Learning System for our Medical Terminology course. This system is a bit outdated and although it teaches Greek and Latin terms and has been somewhat successful, I have a few issues with it. The organization of the curriculum is very random. Students are just given videos to view weekly with 25 new words that are completely unrelated to each other and have no commonalities. The videos and worksheets are the basis of the course and it does not lend itself to as much student engagement as I would like. I do supplement to make up for this shortcoming, but I think I have found a system that will work better for high school students.

I propose that we change our Medical Terminology class to the following text:

Introduction to Medical Terminology, 2nd Edition

By: Linda Stanhope and Kimberly Turnbull

Copyright: 2023

Subject: Medical Terminology

Grade Level: 9-12

This is designed for high school students and the content is organized by body system. I think this will lend itself to more student engagement activities and better understanding and recollection of medical terms. It will also allow students to incorporate basic knowledge of the human anatomy as they learn terms and meanings relevant to each body system. This is a text that is recommended as a resource for the HOSA Medical Terminology competitive event, and each chapter includes a HOSA related activity. It is also one of the texts recommended to me by our KDE Health Sciences consultant.

This particular text also has an accompanying workbook to further enhance classroom activities and understanding of the material. Because several of the standards for this course include body system organization, chart reviews, pathophysiology, and real world application - this text would be much better suited to help students achieve these standards. This type of organization will also have more cross curricular benefits for our students in their future Allied Health coursework.

“Designed with future health science professionals in mind, Introduction to Medical Terminology focuses on the essentials of medical terminology, foundational concepts of human anatomy and physiology, and the common medical terms related to the body systems. These important topics help prepare high school students to succeed in future coursework and build confidence to enter a fast-growing career field. With a student-friendly approach, chapter content is logically organized by introducing relevant medical word parts, followed by an anatomy and physiology overview, coverage of applicable diseases and conditions, diagnostic procedures, surgical and therapeutic treatments, and drug therapies. The text is supported by colorful, detailed art developed by expert medical illustrators. The second edition includes updated content to reflect advances in medical technology, treatments, and mental health; gender-neutral language; and information about COVID-19, including its pathology, spread, and impact on health.

Medical terms are presented in context and dissected into relevant word parts to help beginning students understand the connection between individual word-part meanings and the definitions of terms as a whole.
Cumulative Reviews provide additional reinforcement and check-ins every few chapters to encourage retained knowledge.
Classroom-proven activities like Patient medical record activities and NEW workplace skills labs provide students with valuable critical-thinking opportunities and help them apply chapter content to HOSA competitive events and future health science careers.
Correlated to the YouScience® Industry Certifications Medical Terminology industry-recognized credential, helping students obtain certificates that increase their employability.
Now available in addition to the Online Learning Suite, G-W Ignite offers auto-graded practice”

Cost:
$128 Hardcover Text

$32 Accompanying Workbook

Classroom set - 32 of each

Krista Woods, RN, BSN

Allied Health teacher

North Bullitt High School