9.1 Introduction to Medical Professionals and Specialties
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to
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- Describe the major specialty areas of medicine and the education requirements for physicians and surgeons in these areas
- Name medical professionals and healthcare providers
- List the combining forms relating to each medical specialty
- Name the types of units that are commonly found in the hospital environment
- Describe common hospital terms and combining forms
- List the common abbreviations for medical professionals and hospital units
Chapter Overview
There are a number of different specialties and medical professionals involved in any medical setting. This chapter will give you an overview of the most common physician specialties and other medical professions that are involved in the everyday care of patients. Some professionals are more active in patient care, whereas others are only called in when needed, which means their involvement may be limited. This chapter will also provide you with a list of common units in hospitals. Throughout the chapter, you will encounter new combining forms and abbreviations. There are, of course, other professionals and hospital units that you may encounter, especially in more specialized practice areas; however, the overview in this chapter will hopefully provide you with a foundation from which to learn more during your future professional practice. There are exercises throughout, as well as scenarios that will help you apply the knowledge you have learned.
Attribution
Unless otherwise indicated, material on this page has been adapted from the following resource:
Carter, K., & Rutherford, M. (2020). Building a medical terminology foundation. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/medicalterminology/ licensed under CC BY 4.0
