| Course | NURS 105 Medical Terminology (NURS105) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 6 |
| Assignment | Professional Development Plan |
| Paper type | Two-page professional development essay |
| Length | about 489 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: a 2-page essay in current APA format, with title and reference pages and no abstract, answering how the student will continue learning medical terminology, what exercises will help and what was most difficult and how to improve it; first person allowed |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BSN |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 6 in Liberty's published NURS 105 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NURS 105 Week 6
Keeping Medical Language Alive: A Professional Development Plan for Continuing to Learn Terminology
[Student Name]
School of Nursing, Liberty University
NURS 105: Medical Terminology
Professional Development Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The writer's study history is a composite; the textbook and the learning research cited are real.
Keeping Medical Language Alive: A Professional Development Plan for Continuing to Learn Terminology
Medical terminology is not a subject I will finish in eight weeks. The terms I learned in this course will appear again in pathophysiology, health assessment and every clinical rotation, and new terms will be added in each. Jones and Cavanagh (2016) teach medical language through word parts so that students can keep decoding new terms long after a final exam. This plan describes how I will keep doing that.
How I Will Continue Learning
My plan follows the BSN courses ahead. Before each new course begins, I will review the word parts for the body systems it covers, using my two flashcard sets and the textbook's word part lists, so that I start the course already able to read its vocabulary. During clinical rotations, I will keep a running list in a small notebook of any term I meet that I cannot immediately decode, break it into its parts that evening and add it to a digital flashcard deck. That way, my deck grows from the terms I actually need rather than from a list someone else chose.
Exercises I Will Use
I will use three exercises. First, a ten-minute self-test with my digital deck four days a week, saying each meaning before flipping the card. Karpicke and Roediger (2008) showed that retrieving information from memory produces much better long-term retention than restudying it, so I will test myself rather than reread. Second, I will spread these sessions out and revisit older cards on a schedule, because Cepeda et al. (2006) found that distributed practice produces better long-term recall than the same amount of practice crammed together. Third, once a week I will read one short patient education article or a case in my nursing textbook and underline every medical term, then explain each in plain English, which practices both decoding and translating terms for patients.
What Was Most Difficult and How I Will Improve
The hardest part of this course for me was suffixes that look or sound alike. On the midterm, I confused -ostomy, creating a new opening, with -otomy, cutting into, and I mixed up -megaly, enlargement, with -malacia, softening. These errors matter: a tracheostomy and a tracheotomy are not the same procedure, and the difference changes nursing care.
I think the problem was that I studied these suffixes on separate cards, so I never had to tell them apart. To improve, I will make contrast cards that place the confusing pairs side by side, such as -ostomy and -otomy with one example of each, and I will quiz myself on which one fits a short clinical description. I will also say the terms aloud, since several of my errors came from reading too fast.
Conclusion
I will keep learning medical language the way it is built: one word part at a time, tested often and practiced in the places I will use it. With a weekly routine, a growing deck from clinical practice and contrast cards for the suffixes I confuse, I expect to carry this course's vocabulary into every course that follows.
References
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
Jones, S. L., & Cavanagh, A. R. (2016). Acquiring medical language. McGraw-Hill Education.
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319(5865), 966-968. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
What the NURS 105 Week 6 instructions ask
The Professional Development Plan is the only essay in NURS 105, due in Module/Week 6 with Jones and Cavanagh's chapter 11, two presentations and the sixth quiz. The course guide asks for a two-page essay in current APA format that answers three questions: how you plan to continue learning medical terminology, what exercises you can use to keep learning, such as reading or web-based games, and what you found most difficult and how you can improve that aspect. The essay needs its own title and reference pages but skips the abstract, and writing as "I" is allowed. Two pages is short, so each question deserves a focused answer rather than a list.
How this NURS 105 Week 6 example is built
The sample opens with a short paragraph on why terminology learning cannot stop at the end of the course. The three questions follow under their own headings. The first answer describes a plan tied to the courses and clinical rotations ahead. The second names three specific exercises with how often each will be done, supported by research on retrieval and spacing. The third names the hardest part of the course, sound-alike suffixes, explains why it was hard and gives a concrete method for fixing it. A two-sentence conclusion restates the plan. The essay stays within two pages by answering each question in a single focused section.
NURS 105 Week 6 grading rubric: where the points go
Professional development essays are generally graded on answering all three questions fully, a realistic and specific plan, honest reflection on difficulties, correct APA format with title and reference pages, clear writing and staying within the two-page length. Faculty look for plans with specific actions and timing, such as a weekly practice routine, rather than general intentions like "keep studying." Reflection that names a real weakness and a method to address it shows more learning than a claim that everything went well. Citing a source for the study methods chosen is not required by the guide but strengthens the plan.
NURS 105 Week 6 help: mistakes that cost points
Answer the three questions in order and give each its own heading, so the reader can find each answer. Make the plan specific: what you will do, how often and for how long. Choose exercises you will actually keep doing, and explain why each works; short self-testing beats rereading. For the hardest part, name the exact terms or word parts that gave you trouble and describe a method to fix them, not only a promise to try harder. Use first person, as the guide allows. Include the title page and references, leave out the abstract and keep the body to two pages. Read the finished essay against the three questions one last time to confirm each has a clear, specific and honest answer of its own.
Related NURS 105 sample papers
Other NURS 105 weeks
- NURS 105 Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1
- NURS 105 Week 3: Terminology Flashcards 1
- NURS 105 Week 7: Terminology Flashcards 2
NURS 105 Week 6 questions, answered
What is the NURS 105 Professional Development Plan?
A 50-point, two-page APA essay due in Module/Week 6 that answers how you will keep learning medical terminology, what exercises you will use and what you found hardest and how you will improve.
Where can I find a free NURS 105 Week 6 sample paper?
This page carries a complete NURS 105 Week 6 professional development plan answering all three questions in two pages, free to read.
Does the NURS 105 Professional Development Plan need an abstract?
No. Per the course guide, it opens with an APA title page and closes with references, leaves out the abstract and may be written in the first person throughout.
How can I keep learning medical terminology after the course?
Use short, regular self-testing with flashcards, keep a list of new terms met in reading and clinical practice and review them in spaced sessions rather than in one long sitting.
Why are medical suffixes hard to learn?
Several suffixes look or sound alike but mean different things, such as -ostomy and -otomy or -megaly and -malacia, so they must be learned in contrast with one another.
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