gms | German Medical Science

Basic medical knowledge is crucial for nursing scientists to effectively care for their patients and to efficiently cooperate with physicians and other health care professionals [5]. The knowledge and understanding needed by nursing scientists has to be profound but not as deep and specialized as in medical training [2]. Students often feel ill-prepared for their work life as far as medical science is concerned [1]. Therefore ties between medical expertise and education focusing on the needs and requirements of the target group have to be established [3]. Curricula worldwide vary in terms of concepts and combination of subjects to train undergraduate students [4].

At the Medical University of Graz students participate in a course on general and special pathology, diagnostic methods and therapy in their second semester of studies. Hence, the presented concept brings the understanding of medical terminology (i.e. Greek and Latin origin of medical terms, meaning of different pre- and suffixes, “modern” medical term, . . . ) and medical procedures (auscultation, percussion, palpation; sonography, X-Ray, MRT, . . . ), their results, benefits and risks into focus. Students obtain information they can transfer to their daily work with patients so that on the one hand medical procedures can be explained to lay people in understandable terms, and on the other hand nursing scientists can handle the information given by diagnostic findings or discharge letters and follow physicans’ instructions to ensure optimal patients’ care and safety.