Today you’re going to learn over 50 advanced medical expressions that you need to know for your daily life and make sure you Read right to the end, Now let’s get started.
Patient
Let’s talk about a patient.A patient is a person receiving medical care.We will all be patients at some point in our life, and I’m sure all of us have already been patients on numerous occasions now.Right now, I’m not a patient, even though I have a doctor.I’m not a patient because currently I’m not receiving medical care.This only applies when you’re in the process of receiving medical care.There are two types of patients.You can be an inpatient, which means you’re admitted to the hospital to receive care.If you are an inpatient, you’re going to be at the hospital for a night, a week or even longer.You have a hospital room and a hospital bed.Many inpatients are in an area of the hospital called the ICU.This stands for the Intensive Care Unit ICU, and this is where inpatients go to receive a high level of care.You can also be an outpatient, which most of us usually are, which means you receive care without being admitted to the hospital.You’re an outpatient when you go to the ER, which is the emergency room.
ER
You’re there to receive care for a specific treatment or illness.They treat you and then you leave.You don’t stay overnight at the hospital.
Medical Professionals
Now let’s talk about common medical professionals you need to know.Of course, you already know doctor, also known as a physician.In North America, it’s more common to simply say doctor, but it means the same thing.Most of us have a GP which stands for a General practitioner.This is a Doctor Who treats a wide range of issues.So you can go to your GP because you have a pain in your back, or because you have a cold or a throat infection or an eye issue.A wide range of issues you can go to your GP.A surgeon is of course a Doctor Who performs surgery.There are also many specialists and this is a Doctor Who focuses on one specific medical area.A cardiologist focuses on your heart.A dermatologist focuses on your skin.A pediatrician focuses on children, and in North America, whenever you go to a pediatrician, at the end they always give you a sucker because kids are always scared of going to the pediatrician which is a doctor for children.So they treat you with a sucker or a small treat after an optometrist focuses on your eyes.If you wear glasses, you frequently go to your optometrist.A dentist, of course, focuses on oral health and your teeth and OBGYN.I have no idea what this stands for.I know it’s a very long word, but everyone just says OBGYN and OBGYN is a doctor specifically for women when you’re pregnant or to discuss reproductive issues.An anesthesiologist.Don’t let this spelling confuse you.Native speakers have difficult with the pronunciation of this anesthesiologist.Anesthesiologist An anesthesiologist administers anesthesia, which is what makes you go unconscious before surgery.They also monitor you during surgery.A radiologist does the X-rays, CT scans, and Mris.A psychiatrist focuses on your mind and mental disorders.Fun fact, both of my neighbors are doctors.One is a GP and the other is a psychiatrist.So if I need any help both physically and mentally, I’m covered.And an ENT stands for ear, nose and throat.So that Doctor and ENT focuses on those three things, ear, nose and throat.There are more specialists, but these are the most common.Of course, nurses are just as important as doctors.You can be a registered nurse an RN.This means you have a nursing degree and you have a license in the specific area where you or a nurse.You can also be a nurse practitioner, an NP, which means you have more advanced training and you can diagnose and treat specific medical conditions.Let’s talk about a routine checkup.This is something that all of us do, hopefully every six months or one year.And this is when you see your GP, your General practitioner, just to review your overall health so you don’t have a specific medical issue.
Routine check-up
It’s just a routine appointment.We call that a checkup.A routine checkup.During that routine checkup, your VP General practitioner is going to examine your vital signs.Your vital signs include your temperature, your heart rate, and your blood pressure.Now you can also discuss any specific medical issues that you’re having with your GP during the routine checkup.Of course, you can schedule an appointment at a separate time for a specific medical issue.If you are discussing a specific medical concern or issue with your GP, it’s possible that they’ll refer you to a specialist.For example, your GP could say I’m going to refer you to an ENT.Remember, that’s ear, nose and throat.That’s what the doctor specializes in.When you see the specialist, or even when you’re with your GP, you’re going to talk about your symptoms.A symptom is any feeling of illness that you’re currently having or that you’ve had in the past that you want to discuss with your GP or the specialist.And when you’re talking to the doctor, one of the very first things they’ll say is what are your symptoms, what are your symptoms?And then you simply tell the doctor what’s wrong, what you’re feeling that isn’t right.For example, I have a lot of back pain.My left arm is sore.My feet are numb, which means you can’t feel your feet.If they’re numb, you can’t feel them.My vision is blurry, which means you can’t see very well.Or you could say I feel nauseous.Nauseous.That’s the feeling you get when you’re on a roller coaster.I feel nauseous.Those are just some symptoms you may be experiencing.You can experience or have a symptom.There are of course many, many other symptoms that you could have and that you would discuss with your GP or specialist.After listening to your symptoms, the doctor might want to do some diagnostic tests.
Diagnostic tests
These are tests or an exam to determine the existence or the absence of a specific medical condition, disease or illness.Common examples of diagnostic tests are an MRI, an X-ray, or a CT scan.After these diagnostic tests, the doctor will have a diagnosis, which is a judge judgment about what the illness or medical problem is.Then you can discuss the treatment options.These are the different courses of action that you can take to address the medical issue or the different treatments available.If the treatment option includes medication, well then the doctor will write you a prescription.A prescription is a written order, or in our modern world most likely an electronic order for a specific medical treatment like a drug or a specific pill.You can take your prescription to a pharmacy because at the pharmacy of course they’ll be a pharmacist and a pharmacist fills the prescription, which just means they provide you with the medical treatment on the prescription.It will tell you what the dosage is and this is information the pharmacist needs.The dosage is the amount or quantity of the medical treatment, like a specific drug.So how much of that drug are you getting and what is the quantity of the active drug in each pill that you get?That’s the dosage.The pharmacist will also talk about any side effects, so the side effects of a specific medical treatment.Those are the unintended consequences.So if you take a pill, it might cause headaches, but it’s trying to treat your sore arm, but then it causes a headache.So that’s the side effect of the pill.Any unintended consequences or adverse reactions, those are the side effects.And then later you can schedule a follow up appointment with your GP or specialist to discuss if your symptoms have been relieved at all, if the course of action the treatment is working, if there needs to be any changes to the dosage, a different prescription.You can discuss all of that with your GP or specialist at a follow up appointment.
Free Lesson PDF
And now you have over 50 advanced medical expressions that you can use for your daily life.Of course, we discussed a lot in this article, so that’s why I’m providing you the Other articles. And you can also get this free speaking guide where I share 6 tips on how to English fluently and confidently. And why don’t you keep improving your vocabulary with this lesson right now?