Medical Terminology and Documentation Syllabus

Course Description: 

This course will offer an introduction to basic medical terminology and documentation appropriate to the practice needs of the occupational therapy assistant.

Textbook Information:  

Frucht, Suzanne S. , Medical Terminology Get Connected!  2012

*You will be using the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework-3rd edition for this class. This is a required text for OTA 101 and can be downloaded online or found at Amazon or AOTA.

**You will also be required to use the ICE Learning Center. This is an online resource and is free for students. Instructions for this site provided in class.

Additional Course Information: 

This is a college level course. Many students expect that an online course will be easier, or entail less time. This is not true. This online class will take just as much time as a traditional classroom course. College credits are based on the Carnegie Unit, the structure of the US Education system, for a system of “units”. One semester unit represents one lecture hour of required classroom time and two hours of student preparation time. Thus, our three unit course requires, 3 lecture hours and 6 hours of student preparation, or approximately 9 hours total, per week that you will need to spend on this course.

Course Learning Objectives: 

Through online assignment and self-study, the student will be able to:

1. Accurately utilize Occupational Therapy Framework as identified by AOTA.
2. Demonstrate a working knowledge of abbreviations and terminology utilized by occupational therapy practice settings.
3. Demonstrate an ability to use appropriate abbreviations and terminology in writing functional patient goals, SOAP notes, narrative notes, and problem oriented medical records.

Student Learning Objectives: 

1. Students will demonstrate competence in understanding medical terminology as evidenced by a score of 85% or better on the final medical terminology exam.
2. Students will demonstrate competence in writing a SOAP note as evidenced by writing a final SOAP note with less than 3 errors.      

Grading Criteria:

Quizzes and medical terminology assignments are worth 40% of the total grade (5 quizzes total). The Final Exam is worth 20% of the total grade. The written documentation assignments are worth 40% of the total grade. An average of 75% overall must be attained in order to pass this course.

Grading Scale:                 

A = 93-100%

B = 83-92%

C = 75-82%

D = 70-74%

F = below 70%

All papers are due in to the instructor on the due date. A deduction of 4% will be taken from the paper for each day that the assignment is late up to 20% deduction or five days. After the five days the paper will not be accepted and the student will receive a “0”. Quizzes on medical terminology will be available online over a 3 day period on scheduled dates and will be open book. Students have a maximum of 15 minutes to complete each quiz. If you submit a quiz after the 15 minute 15 second grace period, you will be scored a “0”. All quizzes must be taken within the 3 day period as assigned unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor or due to an illness (physician note required) or valid emergency. Any missed quiz without prior arrangement or due to illness or emergency will be graded as a “0”.

In the online format students take the quizzes on different days and at different times and therefore have the opportunity to discuss the quiz with classmates. Once a student takes the quiz s/he must not discuss the quiz with a student who has not taken it as this is academic dishonesty. Please refer to the college policy on academic dishonesty. NO make-up exams or quizzes will be offered without exceptional reason.

Meet Your Instructor: 

Hi and Welcome to the OTA program!  My name is Shellie and I will be your instructor.  I have been an OTR for 17 years.  I LOVE being an OT!  I am a life long learner and love to hear people's life stories.  I've always been active and earned my Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology from CSULB, where I met my husband.  I earned my Master's Degree in OT from USC and have enjoyed by career path since.  I have practiced in multiple settings including pediatrics, geriatrics, hospital based, private practice and currently, home health.  I love the flexibility of my career and find immense strength and peace when helping others.

I have been married to my best friend for 20 years.  We are raising two ever-growing teenage boys.  Our oldest is a sophomore in high school and just earned his driver's permit.  Our youngest is an 8th grader and an avid skateboarder.  We have a 4 year old puppy, Vito, that is 100 pounds of pure love. 

I love to travel, especially a good long road trip.  I've been to 33 states and 3 countries.  Most of my extended family lives out of state so we spend time traveling between Oregon, Idaho and Pennsylvania.  I have 3 beautiful nieces and 2 rowdy nephews (both red-heads) that I can't get enough time with.  We have taught our boys the joy of camping and love spending a weekend in nature.  On a rare day off you will find me in the kitchen baking (my favorite calming strategy) or outside at the beach or on the water.  I have a strong group of friends that helps me survive the ups/downs of parenting and keep me smiling through the messiness. 

I am excited to get to know you as you become professionals.  Best of luck on your path.  Don't forget to find a little joy, a little fun and a little adventure along the way.

Course Syllabus: 

OTA100 Med Term Syllabus 2017.pdf

Course Schedule:

OTA 100 Course Schedule Fall 2017.pdf