NEW LATIN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOK FOR MEDICAL SPECIALTIES

Abstract

For a long time in Bulgaria, there has been a need for a suitable Latin textbook for medical specialties with a 30-hour course, such as nursing, obstetrics, dental assistance, etc. The authors Dimitar Mirchev, PhD and Assoc. prof. Rossen Milanov aim to fill this niche through the preparation of the presented textbook. The textbook is based on the existing Latin-language textbooks in Bulgaria, while at the same time the authors strive to improve the available methodical systems for the education of students with a schedule of 30 hours per term. The main feature of the textbook is the separation of the grammar into 15 topics, according to the number of study weeks for the specialties mentioned. The authors’ purpose is to offer a balanced amount of exercises corresponding to the limited amount of time for the students to acquire the desired knowledge. This is also one of the main differences between the existing textbooks for а 60-hour schedule and the current textbook. The selection and synthesis of these exercises and the achievement of the final goal, namely the acquisition of sufficient Latin terminology corresponding to the actual needs in the students’ practical field, proved to be a difficult task and a great challenge for the authors. In Bulgaria, before 1989, there are relatively few Latin-language textbooks for medical specialties. Then the nursing and obstetrics are outside the higher education system and study in special secondary schools or colleges, while in the higher schools they prepare specialties of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. For this reason, Latin textbooks are divided respectively for higher education institutions and for secondary school specialties. Since 2007 the nursing and obstetrics enter the higher education system and receive a Bachelor's degree. These specialties are taught in Latin, usually with textbooks prepared for medicine and dentistry. Basically this is not a problem, but gradually textbooks that are appropriate for these specialties have been prepared, according to their academic workload. Nowadays , there are no more than 3-4 textbooks in Bulgaria for classes of 30 hours. In this article, the above-mentioned textbook will be presented, highlighting its advantages and benefits on the basis of existing ones. Nurses, obstetrics and other specialties with similar workload in latin language have chiefly difficulties in learning the grammar that is absolutely necessary for the proper use of anatomical and clinical terminology. At the same time, the practice shows that all medical specialists are hampered by the correct pronunciation of medical terms, which is also a major challenge for the teachers. The textbook is divided into a grammar part with exercises according to the teaching material, greek terminology and Latin-Bulgarian and Bulgarian-Latin dictionary.