Purpose: To creatively help participants remember technical information.

 Time Required: 10 to 15 minutes.

 Size of Group: Unlimited.

 Materials Required: None.

 The Exercise in Action: Using sound-alike terms and accompanying visual images can be one of the best ways to help participants remember difficult terminology, says Janice Bennett, a staff development instructor with Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, PA. She uses the technique to help her classes learn 350 medical terms in a basic medical terminology class.

For example, the term emesis sounds like “Hey, Mrs.” and means “to vomit,” so Bennett uses a two-part visual to help participants remember the chain reaction that causes emesis: Participants first see a woman and a bellhop in a hotel lobby, and in part two of the picture, the woman is vomiting in the lobby, and the bellhop is yelling, “Hey, Mrs.! You can’t vomit in the lobby!”

As a review, Bennett uses a takeoff on the game, “Win, Lose, or Draw.” She first draws a picture of a particular medical element, and participants then have to identify the term, the sound-alike term, and the meaning after she completes the drawing.