Tag: and

Medical Terms Refresher For Test Takers

Occasionally in the testing world, we as court reporters are called upon to take multiple-choice examinations to demonstrate a basic understanding of the words and terms we might hear on the job. There have been a great many debates about whether this is necessary, but for the time being, studying some of these terms and being ready for them can enhance your chance at success and make you a more knowledgeable person. Important note: The next court reporter test for the NY courts is coming up June 29, and it often has a section devoted to medical terminology.

I picked up a quick reference guide, which at the time of writing is $0.99. I have reviewed the guide. It is short. It is a good material to have for anyone seeking to take a test that might have medical terminology on it. Also, as a stopgap measure, if you’re looking for RPR help, I have heard amazing things about Monette Benoit’s Purple Books, but we haven’t gotten a chance to review those on Stenonymous yet. Lastly there’s the Nathaniel Weiss Medical Terms Guide. Pricier than the 99-cent guide but surely more content.

Edit. After posting, Eric Allen found and linked this resource on social media. It is a great resource.

For those that cannot afford the reference guide, a brief reminder on the most common concepts that have come up in testing memory is below in bold. Go ahead and make fun of it, but I know there are test takers that will walk in there, sit down, get to the medical portion, and go completely blank. It’s time to make a stand and help those people get the job or cert of their dreams. Whether or not you buy the reference guide or take a class, make sure you familiarize yourself with the stuff that sounds most alike, because that is the stuff that will jam you up.

Anterior – front or closest in time. (Up the ante — placing a bet before getting cards.)

Posterior – back or further in time. (May help to think after. Postmortem, postscript, after death, after writing.)
Notably dorsal, dorsi, also usually related to the backside or upper side.

Arterio, that’s all about your arteries. angio or angi is all about blood vessels.

Brachio, that’s all about your arms. You don’t want to breaky-yo arm.  Not to be confused with the bronchi in your lungs.

Cephal is head, encephal (in head, en head) or cranio is brain.

Ostomy is an opening. Otomy is an incision.

scope or scopy is an examination. Think microscope to stethoscope, doctor examining you.

aden or adeno has to do with glands. ren, renal, or reno has to do with your kidneys.

gastro is stomach, stoma is mouth.

thromb is talking about a blood clot.

osis is talking about a condition.

sten has to do with narrowing. A stenosis is a narrowing passage or condition in your body.

hist is talking about tissue, hyster is talking about the uterus.

cutane is talking about skin. Subcutaneous, under the skin.

rhino has to do with the nose. Just think of a rhino’s horn nose thing.

myo and muscul has to do with muscles. Myel has to do with spine or bone marrow. myringo has to do with ears, my ringing ears.

phalang has to do with fingers and toes, and pharynx has to do with your throat.

And just in case there’s a little trivia on there, plant cells have cell walls and chloroplasts. Animal cells don’t have those.

The Truths of Employability

For this purpose we define employability generally as ability to work and be “employed” as employees and independent contractors. There is no secret that I often write about how court reporters need to ask for more money, be confident, and negotiate for better benefits or conditions. It’s true. We constantly have market forces exerted on us to lower our expectations in terms of earnings, or make our deadlines tighter, or make our work harder. We are the polite opposition to those market forces. No, we will not work for free. No, we will not give away expedites. No, we will not reprint the entire transcript because your client disagrees subjectively with the potential interpretations arising from the placement of a comma.

But today there’s an important addition to all of that. Today it’s time to say out loud: In addition to demanding you be paid what you are worth, you must make yourself employable. It struck me as I read this Quora answer to the question, “What is the saddest truth about smart people?” The answer itself has a simple theme: Smart people can be the smartest people in the room, but can be unsuccessful and unhappy if they do not take on risks or new opportunities. Now I adapt to this to court reporting. Imagine you are now the fastest, most knowledgeable court reporter in all the world. Imagine you have nothing more to do or learn. Imagine that you are undoubtedly the best. Now imagine that you cannot write a resume or cover letter. You make great transcripts but your cover letters are just awful with misplaced words or rambling ideas. Who will an employer hire; the best court reporter in the world, or the one who knows how to write a resume? In all likelihood, the one who knows how to write, because they have the skill of being able to write, and that makes them employable.

So now it is my time to urge every student, every current reporter, and every non-reporter to do what a theory teacher once taught me: Never stop learning. You don’t have to learn to be the best x, or y, or z. You don’t have to discover new technologies or be a genius. You need only apply yourself to things that interest you. Take a step back and look at a job you really want. What kinds of things make a person employable for that position? You may find that there are a bunch of tangential qualities that can actually make you much more likely to land a position or career. Indeed, basic life skills, like writing a cover letter, go a long way to landing work. Be sure to spell check, double check, and/or have an honest friend review submissions you will make to an agency. I fondly recall a time when I applied to work at or with Reporter’s Ink (as of writing proper spelling) as a freelancer, and before that, I worked with Jaguar. They wanted a sample of my work, and so I provided it to them. They immediately insisted I use their layout, so I applied their layout, and sent the whole thing without checking. Turns out the swap from Jaguar to Reporter’s Ink’s layout stacked the lettering into one another. Succinctly, I lost myself a job opportunity because I didn’t check myself. Don’t be me, get the job, be employable, check yourself, and succeed!