Mastering medical terminology monsters: A proposed addition to NMC module

Challenges in understanding medical terminology

As a basic medical sciences educator, I have seen students struggle with medical terminology, especially those from non-English medium schools. They would memorize terms without under-standing, leading to confusion. One student’s mistake—writing ‘peroneal’ instead of ‘peritoneal’—highlighted this issue. To help, I added 10-minute terminology sessions to my lectures, explaining terms like peritoneal and peroneal. Greek ‘peri’ and Sanskrit ‘pari’, both means around, whereas perone means pin or buckle in Greek. This student interaction showed me the need for proper knowledge of terminology.

Students rarely use medical dictionaries, relying on Google and memorization, which leads to poor retention. Students from non-English medium backgrounds or those with limited proficiency in English often struggle to adapt to medical terminology, which is predominantly rooted in Greek and Latin, compounding their challenge.

Learning medical vocabulary is like acquiring a foreign language, with students learning around 9000 new words in the first year and 55 000 over four years.¹ Mastering prefixes, roots, and suffixes is key, but decoding and pronouncing terms can be challenging. Understanding the foundational terminology is essential and rewarding.³

In a major positive reform, the National Medical Commission (NMC) introduced a foundation course as part of the revised medical curriculum in 2019, focusing on competency-based medical education. This course is designed to help newly joined Indian medical students adjust to the new professional learning environment and acquire essential skills.

Recommendation

The NMC can further enhance medical education in India by incorporating medical terminology as a module in the Foundation Course. This would produce highly competent medical professionals, enabling them to provide high-quality patient care. Benefits include improved understanding of medical concepts, enhanced patient care, and increased confidence among students, ultimately leading to better clinical practice and reduced medical errors.

Medical colleges in Saudi Arabia, such as King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University and Batterjee Medical College, offer medical terminology courses in the first year of MBBS.^4,5 The course covers topics like body organization, prefixes, and suffixes, helping students develop a strong understanding of medical vocabulary rooted in Greek or Latin. This foundational course prepares students for medical careers, allowing them to explore anatomy, physiology, and pathology, and discover their interests for future careers.

Conclusion

Indian students have a unique advantage in learning medical terminology due to the etymological connections between Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin. By leveraging this existing knowledge, students can grasp complex medical jargon more easily. With focused effort, teaching medical terminology rooted in Sanskrit can help students master the ‘monsters’ of medical terminology and potentially excel in the field, making important global contributions.