Danielle LaFleur Brooks
My love of language, medical and otherwise, has led me to many interesting places academically and professionally. I am deeply interested in medical language, clinically and metaphorically, and I have had the opportunity to work with this concept by writing textbooks and facilitating writing programs for patients and healthcare professionals.
As a Community College of Vermont Faculty member since 2009, I have primarily Medical Terminology in a variety of formats including asynchronously online, synchronously in-person and online, hybrid, and other formats such as accelerated and flex modalities.
I have also taught Administrative and Clinical Medical Assisting courses and supervised Clinical and Administrative Medical Assisting internships.
In addition to teaching for CCV, I have taught for Goddard College in the Education and Licensure and the Health Arts and Science programs. I also had the opportunity to develop and facilitate the Greater Phoenix Area’s Young Adult Writing Project for Arizona State University. For the last twenty-five years or so, I have been immersed in medical terminology as well as teaching. I have recently completed the revision of Basic Medical Language and will begin the revision of Exploring Medical in early 2023.
Textbook writing is such a creative process! I love thinking about the content and how best to serve the student new to medical language. I have also had the opportunity to design instructor’s materials, build test banks, review online courses, design learning games, and create companion websites. It has been an engaging curriculum development process, which provides an excellent opportunity to practice what I know about learning and teaching.
In addition to writing and teaching, I am a full-time mother of two beautiful daughters. I have an understanding of the balancing act required to meet professional, academic, and family responsibilities. And though I am thoroughly dedicated to my academic and professional roles, being a parent brings so much joy.
Publications: Lead author of Exploring Medical Language and Basic Medical Language published by Elsevier Science.
Publications: Lead author, Exploring Medical Language and Basic Medical Language.
Educational Background: MA, Transformative Language Arts, Goddard College; MEd, Secondary Education, Arizona State University; BS, Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona.
Myrna LaFleur Brooks
I first taught medical terminology in 1970, a two-credit course at GateWay Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Using the textbook titled, The Elements of Scientific and Specialized Terminology, by Brunner and Berkowitz, I learned to teach medical terminology using the word-part method.
Since the book only dealt with terms built from word parts, I was interested in a book that would broaden the offering to medical terms not built from word parts.
Unable to find such a text, my teaching partner, Winnie Starr, and I sent a textbook proposal to The C.V Mosby Company. Our proposal was accepted and we began writing the text titled Exploring Medical Language, A Student-Directed Approach. The first edition was published in 1985 and is now is in the 10th edition and is published by Elsevier. I have the great privilege of co-authoring the textbook with my daughter, Danielle LaFleur Brooks.
In 1996, a second medical terminology text, Basic Medical Language, Elsevier, was published, co-authored by Danielle, and is now in its 6th edition. Basic Medical Language differs from Exploring Medical Language in that is designed for use in a shorter course and is often used in Health Occupation Programs.
I am also the original coauthor of LaFleur Brooks’ Health Unit Coordinating. W.B Saunders/Elsevier The national exposure from the publishing of this textbook led me to become the founding president of the National Association of Health Unit Coordinators.
My career through the years consisted of bedside nursing, Director of Staff Development in a hospital setting and 27 years as faculty and Chair of the Health Science Division, Maricopa County Community College District.
Now, through social media (MedicalTerminologyBlog.com, @MLaFleurBrooks, LinkedIn), I connect daily with healthcare professionals, patients, students, faculty, and anyone interested in discussing, learning, and sharing the fascinating world of medical language.
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Dale M. Levinsky
I am a board-certified family medicine physician. I have practiced in a variety of settings over the past 25 years, including a large multi-specialty group, a small rural independent clinic, and a clinical research facility. I am a Clinical Associate Professor in the department of Family, Community, and Preventative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.
Currently, I teach history taking and physical exam skills to first year medical students. I also supervise medical students in three clinics dedicated to the care of underserved patients.
I began my association with medical terminology as a consultant for Exploring Medical Language during the 9th edition in 2012, for which I composed electronic health records and case studies for multiple chapters. My participation has increased with each successive edition, and I am now a co-author for both Exploring Medical Language and Basic Medical Language. Some of my primary goals are to ensure that the textbooks and online materials are medically accurate, and that terms and definitions are straightforward and relevant for people working in all aspects of medicine.
