Medical and scientific terminology

Use this forum to discuss the July 2019 Book of the month, "Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream" by Dr Frank L Douglas.
User avatar
Helen_Combe
Posts: 2493
Joined: 18 Feb 2018, 12:17
Favorite Book: The Martian
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 193
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-helen-combe.html
Latest Review: And The Trees Began To Move by Lisa Gammon Olson
Reading Device: B00M4L4MFC

Re: Medical and scientific terminology

Post by Helen_Combe »

Personally, I like medical terminology, it’s a great opportune pity to learn and t’s so easy nowadays with google and online dictionaries.
A thesaurus is necessary, essential, indispensable, vital, crucial and fundamental.
UnicornKnight
Posts: 35
Joined: 29 May 2019, 06:14
Favorite Author: Nora Sakavic
Currently Reading: Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1)
Bookshelf Size: 287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-unicornknight.html
Latest Review: Health Tips, Myths, and Tricks by Morton E Tavel, MD
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
fav_author_id: 58836

Post by UnicornKnight »

It was honestly a little hard to get through, I just skimmed over the medical parts and prayed it wasn't too important to the emotions that Dr. Douglas was trying to convey. It would have been nice to at least get a short glossary at the end of the book so that you could go back and forth to truly understand what each term meant but at the end of the day if it was really vital to the book, I think he would've put some sort of explanation.
User avatar
Melchi Asuma
Posts: 414
Joined: 23 Jan 2018, 01:47
Currently Reading: Patch Man
Bookshelf Size: 134
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-melchi-asuma.html
Latest Review: The Roving Mind: A Modern Approach to Cognitive Enhancement by Anthony Simola
Reading Device: B00I15SB16

Post by Melchi Asuma »

I am yet to read this book but this is a topic that I love. I think that it is usually inconsiderate of an author to exclude a part of the audience by using unnecessary jargon. However, I will read this book to see for myself.
MA
User avatar
Kristin Ransome
Posts: 461
Joined: 27 Dec 2018, 11:17
Currently Reading: Way of Kings
Bookshelf Size: 35
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-firefawkes.html
Latest Review: The Augur's View by Victoria Lehrer

Post by Kristin Ransome »

I have a decent medical/science knowledge, but I still had some difficulty. In some cases, I think a small footnote would have made a huge difference!
User avatar
Gracedscribe
Posts: 121
Joined: 29 May 2018, 02:03
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 35
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gracedscribe.html
Latest Review: The Fox by M. N. J. Butler

Post by Gracedscribe »

Aditi Sapate wrote: 29 Jul 2019, 11:30 I think you have to either have a prior knowledge about the terms used or a thirst to find out about it. There are such aspects in every book that we're not familiar with but that's what makes reading such an amazing activity! We get to learn so much.
I agree. But it also may be daunting to find the meaning of too many such terms and the reader may be put off in the end. It may be best to use layman's terms, especially when the book is an autobiography. That could increase the reading audience considerably.
User avatar
DC Brown
Posts: 325
Joined: 26 Jul 2018, 08:42
Currently Reading: Sold on a Monday
Bookshelf Size: 204
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dc-brown.html
Latest Review: The Byrds of Victory by James Robert Campbell

Post by DC Brown »

Czolly23 wrote: 27 Jul 2019, 07:36 I really enjoyed reading Dr. Douglas’s autobiography and found him to be very inspirational. I struggled, however, with the plethora of medical and scientific terminology. When the intricacies of medications and diagnoses were discussed, I found it difficult to follow, and that it distracted from his main theme.

What do you think? Did it add to the book and your understanding? Did you also find it distracting and at times a bit tedious?
It was very difficult to follow the terminology. Was he too used to an audience of his peers...those that spoke the language? I did find it fascinating and distracting at the same time. It was like peeking into a world I'd never seen and yet it was like being thrust into his German submersion lessons!
User avatar
Samy Lax
Posts: 1101
Joined: 30 Jan 2018, 01:40
Currently Reading: 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself
Bookshelf Size: 156
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-samy-lax.html
Latest Review: Chats with God in Underwear by Eduardo Chapunoff

Post by Samy Lax »

Since I majored in biological science, I thankfully could understand the medical terminology to a great extent. But I agree that the success of any book is gauged by how easily understandable it is by any reader that chooses to read it. So I totally get what you are saying.
“...in principle and reality, libraries are life-enhancing palaces of wonder.”
― Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
User avatar
DD129
Posts: 204
Joined: 29 Jun 2019, 08:41
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 11
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dd129.html
Latest Review: The Message? by Avam Hale

Post by DD129 »

I’m interested in medicine, so the medical terminology parts were appealing to me. I wasn’t bothered by it, but I understand why others would be. Not everyone has the background nor the curiosity to be able to get through all the jargon. However, for this book, I think it was a nice touch. He wanted to be a doctor, succeeded at it, and he can even demonstrate his knowledge for proof!
User avatar
nicolelong_
Posts: 7
Joined: 10 Aug 2019, 23:21
Currently Reading: Cynthia and Dan
Bookshelf Size: 10

Post by nicolelong_ »

I agree that it takes away the main theme of the book as I have no knowledge in the medical and scientific terminology. I really wished that the author had included the definitions in the book as it would have saved me some time googling for them!
Manali_DC
Posts: 448
Joined: 05 Jun 2017, 00:51
Currently Reading: A Little Life
Bookshelf Size: 73
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-manali-dc.html
Latest Review: Flat Top Mountain Ranch -- the beginning by James E Doucette

Post by Manali_DC »

Since I have a good understanding of medical and scientific terminology, I didn't find it too difficult to follow the story. But I also think that somethings could not have been explained in layman's terms!
User avatar
Samantha Simoneau
Posts: 766
Joined: 02 Apr 2018, 10:51
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 240
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-samantha-simoneau.html
Latest Review: Dancing With Jesus by Allison Broughton
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by Samantha Simoneau »

I think it's important in a book like this one to ensure that the average person finds it accessible, otherwise many readers will miss out on an excellent, inspiring read, so the author should provide ground-level explanations to expert-level concepts or at least provide clarifying footnotes.
Samantha Simoneau

“But upon the stage of life, while conscience claps, let the world hiss! On the contrary if conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value."
~John Adams :greetings-clapyellow:
LyorBoone
Posts: 184
Joined: 29 Jun 2019, 17:53
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 14
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lyorboone.html
Latest Review: Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream by Dr Frank L Douglas

Post by LyorBoone »

I felt a lot of the medical/scientific terminology didn't fit in this story. I felt in those moments, that Dr. Douglas focused too much on the technical details of what he was physically doing as opposed to telling us why these things were so important and mattered at the time. He could have mentioned past patients or other stakeholders that would benefit from the medicines he was working on. Of course, a lot of that might have fit better in a book that fully embraced the medical side of his life and targeted the medical doctor type audience.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme” - Mark Twain. Dare we say the same thing about every story that gets told in the world?
User avatar
WardahEbrahim
Posts: 131
Joined: 05 May 2019, 17:40
Currently Reading: Little Women
Bookshelf Size: 55
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-wardahebrahim.html
Latest Review: Winning the War on Cancer by Sylvie Beljanski

Post by WardahEbrahim »

As somebody in the field, I cannot relate. But it is appreciated because it shows that the author did their research and everything makes sense. It is a little annoying when the set up or chain of events is just not plausible because because the author did not do research regarding whatever science is involved. However, there is a way to include jargon while still explaining it strategically, but not in an obvious way. Its a type of finesse authors need to have.
User avatar
Juliet+1
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 706
Joined: 14 Jul 2019, 16:21
Favorite Book: The Elephants of Style
Currently Reading: A New American Evolution
Bookshelf Size: 302
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-juliet-1.html
Latest Review: Your Smart Home Voyage by Gary Rockis

Post by Juliet+1 »

I've had a lot of experience with medical/scientific terminology, so it was not a problem. I did think, though, that it could have been cut back a bit. Too much detail. I've seen some authors find ways to explain technical terms without actually explaining them. One way is to have their characters talk about the term in a way that makes the meaning clear without being obvious -- still keeping the discussion part of the story.
User avatar
fmd1821
Posts: 120
Joined: 25 Mar 2019, 09:18
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 137
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fmd1821.html
Latest Review: Mastering Real Estate with Private Money by Tom Braegelmann

Post by fmd1821 »

I have no problem with the most common medical terms, but at times it is difficult for me to follow if the description is too detailed. I do not think it is boring (I always hope to learn something new), but at times it slows down my reading.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream" by Dr Frank L Douglas.”