Examiner's Report for Level 2 Award in Medical Terminology - June 2015, Slides of Medical Sciences

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5519-220 - Level 2 Award in Medical Terminology

Examiner’s report - June 2015 series

The pass mark range for this examination is 70%. However, as each examination paper is unique there can be slight variations of difficulty from series to series – which means that students are required to gain either more or fewer raw marks to compensate and to gain a pass.

This examination was marked by computer for the first time.

General Comments

Many candidates gained good marks in this examination, showing sufficient knowledge of the subject to achieve a pass mark. Centres standards varied considerably - from excellent to very poor. Several candidates achieved a distinction grade.

Areas of good performance

Question 1 This word part question was very well answered by the more capable candidates. All the word parts were taken from a prescribed list and so should be well understood by candidates.

Question 3a & 3b These questions were well answered by a large majority of candidates and involve matching medical terms and word parts with given definitions.

Question 4b The majority of candidates answered this question well. It is based on a list of medical specialties provided in the course handbook. Tutors should ensure that they are aware of these medical terms on which their candidates will be tested. Despite this there were a number of candidates who had very little idea of the correct answers and also failed to give a sufficient definition of the terms, simply repeating the term given in the question eg endocrine, without giving any further explanation.

Question 5 This was generally well answered by many candidates with several candidates gaining full marks. As usual, some candidates gained good marks here even though their knowledge was very poor concerning other areas of the paper.

Areas for improvement

Question 2 Many candidates were unable to identify common words in this question and showed a complete lack of understanding of anatomy, physiology and diseases of the listed body systems. Many candidates failed to explain their answers fully.

Question 4a There were some very good answers by a few candidates but unfortunately this question again caused difficulty for the weaker ones. A thorough knowledge of the subject is necessary to achieve good marks for this question. A few candidates did give excellent answers, gaining full marks, which demonstrated an extensive knowledge of the subject. Spelling of medical terms was often poor by weaker candidates. There was indication of candidates having no understanding of the correct use of the combining vowel which was cause for concern. Some gave more than one answer for each question. Only the first answer was marked.

Medical terms least known

• plasia metatarso- - spasm - porosis - centesis
• opia Pericardial gingivitis thrombus stomatitis intercostals endometriosis Psychiatry rheumatology scintology

Meanings

A lighted instrument for examination of the ear main artery of the body

cutting into the bladder Surgical removal of the gallbladder

Abbreviations

P NSAID pc

Recommendations and Tips

Read the questions carefully.

Again there were several extremely poor papers with the contents almost unreadable and few questions attempted. It is recommended that candidates are not entered for the examinations until they are able to achieve a reasonable standard. Tutors need to ensure that candidates understand word parts and their context in relation to the body. Candidates need to have a sound knowledge of the anatomy of the body in order to understand medicine and common procedures. This will help them to avoid making errors in their interpretation and application of required common terms.

The common medical terms relating to each body system in outcome two of the syllabus should be taught. Recommended text-books cover these requirements. A basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology is required for candidates to understand the terminology. Rote learning is not enough.

In order for candidates to have a good understanding of the subject, tutors need to have a wide working knowledge of medical terminology and its application. Many medical terms have a completely different meaning than the literal interpretation.

Accuracy in this important field is essential.

Tutors need to read the guidelines for this qualification, carefully. City & Guilds provide detailed information within the specification.