Advanced Terminology VETE 402
Final Paper
Watson 1
Final Paper
Advanced Medical Terminology VETE 402
Dayna Watson
Advanced Terminology VETE 402
Final Paper
Watson 2
I do believe that medical terminology should be included in the Veterinary Technician
National Exam. I am in California and we take a Registered Veterinary Technician Exam and
medical terminology is not incorporated into that very well either. From personal experience
people who have taken either test have very little knowledge of veterinary terminology. The
Veterinarian that I currently work for is Dr. Barton Huber and he has been in practice for almost
30 years and his biggest issue with newly registered or licensed technicians’ is the lack of
terminology.
“When writing up a chart it is much easier for a doctor to use abbreviations as well as
medical terms for legal purposes.” (Huber) Even though terminology is taught to some extent in
school it is not a requirement on either national or state tests. From personal experience in my
clinic I still have to explain to new RVT’s what AU, OU, and many other commonly used
terminology means. This takes up both my time and the client’s time. Dr. Trenton Moore a
recent graduate from Ross University has said the same thing “It is extremely time consuming to
have to explain to a technician what abbreviation mean for drug labels but also for medical
abbreviations such as HCM, MPL, and so on” (Moore).
Clients often ask while still in the office or call back for a diagnosis and if you are unable
to understand medical terminology it makes the client wait longer and either another technician
or doctor stop what they are doing to read the chart and then explain it to the technician so that
they can go up front and explain it to the client. Had the technician known the terminology this
would not have been an issue. When I worked at a specialty clinic we had many problems with
Advanced Terminology VETE 402
Final Paper
Watson 3
clients calling and the technician not being able to help the client understand what was going on
with their pet even if it was something as easy as FLUTD or FUS depending were you work.
Talking to a board certified internist Dr. Megan Morgan it has become clear that
terminology should be part of the exam so that the technician will remember it a little better.
“There will always be a degree of terminology that a technician will need help understanding,
however they should know the basics especially if they plan on going into a specialized area of
medicine.” (Morgan) Technicians should be able to know basic terminology which is not a
major part of the exam.
The exam does cover a majority of medical care, surgical care, pharmacology, and
dentistry; however, this does not include much terminology outside of these categories. I believe
there should be a separate category for just terminology. In private practice technicians do have
to know mainly pharmacy and exam room terminology such as PO, NPO, SID, BID, Sub-Q, IM,
IC, IV, etc. According to Dr. Andrea Shaw, “technicians should be able to interpret how a
medication is to be given and how often.” Dr. Shaw believes that if the technician is a surgery
technician they should know much more.
On the national and state technician tests I feel that more advanced terminology is
needed. I have found that people who have recently passed one or both of the tests still do not
understand medical and surgical terminology. “I should be able to write up a chart with
terminology such as MPL SX needed and have a technician know what that means but also be
able to explain it to the client” (Morgan, Oliver). Dr. Oliver Morgan is a board certified surgeon
and expects both his technician and medical assistant to be able to know basic terminology and
Advanced Terminology VETE 402
Final Paper
Watson 4
feels that it is either not taught well enough or not on the test because of that students do not
study for that particular area.
From my own personal stand point I had been working as a technician for ten years prior
to taking my state board exam and was very familiar with medical terminology and was
surprised to see that it was not a big part of the test. If I had no real world knowledge I would
not have a good grasp on it. Even in school it is only a semester class so is not emphasized as an
important part of the job. I believe it is not just the test that needs to be adjusted but also the way
it is taught and the emphasis put on the subject.
Working ICU specialty care opens up a whole other part of terminology I feel if it was on
the board exam would be easier for a new technician to come into that kind of environment.
“Knowing things such as TCC, LSA, and even things such as Diabetic Ketoacidosis,
Hypothyroid, and caridomyopathy would be most valuable” (Son). For things that are
commonly seen in general practice and emergency specific terms are used and need to be known.
If there was a section devoted to terminology I think the transition from school to the
work place would be easier on both the technician and established employees. I find myself
often explaining things such as purities, Addison’s, Cushing’s, hypoglycemia, and so on. This is
not only time consuming to me but it is also something I feel should already be known when they
are out of school and have passed their test. Even after 15 years in the veterinarian field there are
terms that I still don’t know because the field is constantly changing, I do feel the basic should
be tested and learned.
Advanced Terminology VETE 402
Final Paper
Watson 5
I do feel that the Veterinary Technician National Exam should devote a section of the test
to terminology. Do to the everyday use of it in the veterinary setting. There should be a basic
set of terminology on the test with the understanding that new terminology will be picked up
along the way.
What does HCM stand for and which side of the heart does it affect?
What does FLUTD stand for?
What does hypo mean?
What does hyper mean?
What do SID, BID, TID, and QID mean?
What do the following abbreviations?

OU, OS, OD

AU, AS, AD

PO

NPO

IV

IC

IM

Sub-q
What does it mean when a cat has had a PU SX?
Advanced Terminology VETE 402
Final Paper
Watson 6
Bibliography
Huber, Barton, DVM
Moore, Trenton, DVM
Morgan, Megan, DVM board certified internist
Morgan, Oliver, DVM board certified surgeon
Son, Tina, DVM board certified criticalist