Department of
Interdisciplinary Studies
IDST 1250
Writing for the Health
Professional
Course Description
Written communication is essential in many professions. In the health care field, there is an
increasing demand for competent and qualified professionals who can write well. This
introductory course enables the student to recognize and develop writing techniques and
processes that are clear, accurate, responsible, and audience appropriate. The course includes
developed discussion regarding various aspects of writing mechanics and structure and also ties
in practical applications to common writing situations found in the medical setting.
Credits/Modes of Instruction
This is a 3-credit undergraduate course in lecture format that relies on regular activities,
assignments, and completion of weekly topics.
Prerequisites
Successful completion of the following two courses: Dynamics of Health Care in Society and
Medical Terminology
Instructor
The instructor will be a Rutgers SHRP faculty (or adjunct) member.
Course Goal and Objectives
Goal
The goal of this course is to build a foundation for written communication in health professions
with an emphasis on development of clear and accurate writing techniques.
Objectives
After completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Define the “Writing Process” and discuss how it can be applied to various forms of
written communication in the healthcare setting.
2. Utilize grammar rules regarding parts of speech and sentence structure appropriately.
3. Determine when and what types of punctuation marks to use in writing.
4. Recognize, define, and accurately spell various medical terms.
5. Describe the function of the medical record and discuss the impact of JCAHO standards
and HIPAA guidelines on documentation.
6. Apply writing and grammar skills to “real world” medical communications ranging from
constructing a simple medical office letter to developing a research review paper.
7. Compose an Informative Research Review Paper.
8. Utilize components of the writing process to develop a Career Goals in Healthcare Paper.
1
9. Define health literacy and apply these concepts in the development of a patient education
handout.
10. Determine strategies for appropriately citing references and avoiding plagiarism.
Course Requirements
Requirements for Completion
Attendance is required to keep up with the information presented in class. Students will be
expected to participate in classroom discussions and group activities. Each course unit will
include readings, assignments, and a short quiz. In addition, successful completion the course
projects will be required. There will be a cumulative final exam based on class content and
assigned readings
Requirements
Weight
Attendance/Participation/Group Discussion
10%
Unit Assignments
15%
Unit Quizzes
15%
Patient Education Handout Project
10%
Research Project – Informative Review Paper
15%
Career Goals in Healthcare Paper
15%
Final Examination
20%
Total
100%
Evaluation, Feedback and Grading
Evaluation/Assessment Methods –
 Attendance/Participation/Group Discussion – Students are expected to attend all classes
and participate in classroom discussions and group activities.
 Unit Assignments – Each unit will have specific assignments geared to meet unit
objectives. These assignments can be completed as homework or in class, as time
permits.
 Unit Quizzes – Students will be required to take a short quiz at the completion of each
unit. Content will be based on lectures, readings, and classroom discussions/activities.
 Course Projects – There will be three major projects due throughout the course. The
objectives of these projects are to enable students to apply the learned writing techniques
in the development of various types of written documents seen in the healthcare setting.
 Final Examination – Successful completion of a cumulative final exam at the end of the
course is required.
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Feedback on Progress
Students will receive feedback on their performance on a regular basis. Quantitative and
qualitative feedback will be provided for all assignments, quizzes/tests, and projects.
Grade Determination
The minimum level of satisfactory performance in this course is a ‘C’ or better. To receive a ‘C’
or better, students must first complete ALL course requirements specified above, including
meeting the minimum attendance expectation. Based on the evaluations methods and criteria
previously described, each requirement is then scored on a 0-100 point scale. The final letter
grade is based on the weighted average of all requirements, as specified in the table below.
Upon successful completion of the course students will be eligible to take the Health Science
Careers standardized exam to determine college credit.
High school students must attain a C (74) or better on the Writing for the Health Care
Professional standardized exam to earn college credits. For Writing for the Healthcare
Professional, the Rutgers grade listed on transcript will be comprised of 75% of the Rutgers
SHRP standardized exam grade and 25% of the high school course grade.
Health Science Careers Program
Grading System
Weighted
Average of All
Requirements
Final
Letter
Grade
94-100
A
90-93
A-
87-89
B+
84-86
B
80-83
B-
77-79
C+
74-76
C
70-73
C-
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Faculty/Student Honor Code
(Refer to your SHRP Student Handbook at
http://shrp.rutgers.edu/current_students/handbook.pdf)
The faculty of Rutgers School of Health Related Professions believes that students must observe
and support high standards of honesty and integrity in all aspects of education, practice, and
research. For this reason, all matriculated and non-matriculated students in this course are
expected to abide by the School's Faculty/Student Honor Code and accept responsibility to help
ensure that these standards are maintained by reporting violations of the Honor Code observed in
others. All violations will be considered with gravest concern and may be punishable with
sanctions as severe as suspension or dismissal.
General Learning Resources
Required Textbook(s)
Villemaire, D., Villemaire, L. Grammar and Writing Skills for the Health Professional, 2nd
Edition. NY: Delmar Cengage Learning. 2005. (ISBN: 140187374X)
Urdang, L. The Bantam Medical Dictionary. NY, NY: Market House Books. 2009. (ISBN:
0553592262)
Other Required Learning Resources
Website links will be provided in the Learning Resources section for certain units in the Course
Schedule. Students are required to access these websites for completion of assigned readings
and activities.
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Course Units/Schedule
Note: this schedule is a plan only, subject to change by the instructor as deemed necessary to
achieve the course goals. Whenever possible, you will be notified in advance of any changes,
especially those affecting course requirements or grading.
Unit Topical Outline
Learning Resources
Unit
Activities/Assignments
Unit The Writing Process
1  Identify and implement the
five stages of the writing
process.
 Determine how the writing
process can be applied to
various forms of written
communication in the
healthcare setting.
 Identify the criteria of good
writing style.
 Utilize the Writing Process
to develop the initial draft of
the Career Goals in
Healthcare Paper.
Text Chapter 1
Complete the following
Activities:
Visit the following
website link and review
the content:



The Writing Process –
Purdue Online
Writing Lab:

http://owl.english.purd
ue.edu/owl/section/1/1 
/
Medical Dictionary
Unit Nouns and Writing the Medical Text Chapter 2
2 Letter
Medical Dictionary
 Identify and appropriately
use the proper forms of
nouns in writing.
 Define and spell various
medical nouns.
 Describe the basic
components of a medical
letter and discuss appropriate
format and presentation.
All Practice Activities
(Practice 1-1 to 1-3)
Medical Spelling (pg.
10) – define all of the
words
Skills Review (pg. 1112)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 12- 13)
Complete Unit Quiz 1
Complete the following
Activities:




All Practice Activities
(Practice 2-1 to 2-14)
Medical Spelling (pg.
32) – define all of the
medical nouns
Skills Review (pg. 4649)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 49-50)
Complete Unit Quiz 2
Unit Pronouns and Proper Writing
3 Techniques for Office Memos
and Email
 Identify and appropriately
use pronouns in writing.
 Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
Text Chapter 3
Complete the following
Activities:
Medical Dictionary


All Practice Activities
(Practice 3-1 to 3-11)
Medical Spelling (pg.
64) – define all of the
5


Design a concise, clear, and
direct office memorandum.
Discuss guidelines for
developing an appropriate
email message.


medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 7072)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 72-73)
Complete Unit Quiz 3
Unit Verbs and The Medical Record
4  Identify and appropriately
use the various forms of
verbs in writing.
 Accurately spell and define
various medical verbs.
 Describe the purpose of the
medical record.
 Identify the essential
components of charting data
in the medical record.
 Discuss the importance of
meeting JCAHO standards
and adhering to HIPAA
guidelines when charting in
the medical record.
Text Chapter 4
Visit the following
website link and review
the content:

Complete the following
Activities:

All Practice Activities
(Practice 4-1 to 4-15)
Medical Spelling (pg.
93-94) – define all of the
medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 99101)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 101-102)

Summary of the
HIPAA Privacy Rule –
U.S. Department of

Health and Human
Services:

http://www.hhs.gov/o
cr/privacy/hipaa/under
standing/summary/ind Complete Unit Quiz 4
ex.html
Medical Dictionary
Unit Sentences and Documentation in Text Chapter 5
5 the Medical Record
Medical Dictionary
 Identify basic types of
sentence structures.
 Describe common causes of
poorly constructed
sentences.
 Discuss some of the key
elements of good sentence
structure.
 Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
 Recognize different forms of
charting in the medical
record.
Complete the following
Activities:
Unit Punctuation and Medical
6 Reports
 Recognize when and what
types of punctuation marks
Complete the following
Activities:
Text Chapter 6




All Practice Activities
(Practice 5-1 to 5-11)
Medical Spelling (pg.
120-121) – define all of
the medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 128130)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 131)
Complete Unit Quiz 5
Medical Dictionary

All Practice Activities
6


to use in writing.
Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
Describe the purpose and
components of a History &
Physical Report (H&P) and a
Consultation Report.



(Practice 6-1 to 6-5)
Medical Spelling (pg.
148) – define all of the
medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 152153)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 154)
Complete Unit Quiz 6
Unit Adjectives and Medical Reports Text Chapter 7
7  Recognize various types of
adjectives and apply rules of Medical Dictionary
proper placement.
 Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
 Define an eponym and be
aware of the rules related to
its proper spelling and
capitalization.
 Describe the purpose and
components of the following
medical reports: radiology,
pathology, discharge
summary, and operative.
Complete the following
Activities:
Unit Adverbs and Medical Office
8 Written Communications
 Recognize and use adverbs
effectively with special
attention to proper
placement.
 Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
 Describe appropriate format
and writing style for
common written
communications in the
medical office setting:
facsimiles, phone messages,
and meeting minutes.
Text Chapter 8
Complete the following
Activities:
Unit Prepositions/Conjunctions and
9 The Research Manuscript and
Grant Proposal
Text Chapter 9




All Practice Activities
(Practice 7-1 to 7-6)
Medical Spelling (pg.
168-169) – define all of
the medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 174177)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 177)
Complete Unit Quiz 7
Medical Dictionary




All Practice Activities
(Practice 8-1 to 8-7)
Medical Spelling (pg.
187) – define all of the
medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 192193)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 193-194)
Complete Unit Quiz 8
Complete the following
Activities:
Visit the following
7





Recognize appropriate use of
prepositions and
conjunctions.
Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
Discuss common types of
medical writing and describe
their purpose and
components including
research manuscripts and
grant proposals.
Describe and apply basic
APA guidelines for writing
style and reference citations.
Compose an Informative
Research Review Paper
Unit Phrases/Clauses and
10 Promotional Writing
 Recognize phrases and
clauses and describe how
they function within the
structure of a sentence.
 Accurately spell and define
various medical terms.
 Describe promotional
writing and its uses in
healthcare.
 Define health literacy and
why this concept is
important to consider in the
development of patient
education literature.
 Develop a Patient Education
Handout.
website link and review
the content:


All Practice Activities
(Practice 9-1 to 9-9)
Medical Spelling (pg.
206) – define all of the
medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 218220)
Comprehensive Review
(pg. 220-221)

APA Documentation –
The Writing Center at
the University of

Wisconsin – Madison:
http://writing.wisc.edu 
/Handbook/DocAPA.
html
Complete Unit Quiz 9
Medical Dictionary
Text Chapter 10
Visit the following
website links and review
the content:


Complete the following
Activities:


Quick Guide to Health
Literacy – U.S.
Department of Health
and Human Services:
http://www.health.gov
/communication/litera
cy/quickguide/Quickg
uide.pdf
Writing East to Read
Materials – Center for
Medicare Education:
http://www.ihconline.
org/UserDocs/Pages/
WritingEasyToReadM
aterials.pdf

All Practice Activities
(Practice 10-1 to 10-8)
Medical Spelling (pg.
232-233) – define all of
the medical terms
Skills Review (pg. 238240)
Classroom Discussion:
Why are the key differences
between writing for the
healthcare professional, the
patient, or the general
public?
Complete Unit Quiz 10
Medical Dictionary
Unit Paragraphs and Avoiding
11 Plagiarism
 Recognize and write
different types of
paragraphs.
Text Chapter 11

Complete the following
Activities:
Avoiding Plagiarism –
Purdue Online

Writing Lab:
All Practice Activities
(Practice 11-1 to 11-5)
8




http://owl.english.purd  Medical Spelling (pg.
Describe the structure and
ue.edu/owl/resource/5
development of a paragraph.
251-252) – define all of
89/1/
the medical terms
Accurately spell and define
 Quoting and
various medical terms.
 Skills Review (pg. 252Paraphrasing
–
The
253)
Determine strategies for
Writing Center at the
appropriately citing
University of
Complete Unit Quiz 11
references and avoiding
Wisconsin –Madison:
plagiarism.
http://writing.wisc.edu
Incorporate grammar,
/Handbook/QuotingSo
sentence structure, and
urces.html
paragraph rules into final
draft of Careers Goals in
Medical Dictionary
Healthcare Paper.
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