Ebook English for nursing and health care: Part 1

Robin A. Bradley

English for Nursing
ana
Health Care
A course in general and professional English
C a o D an g Y te Phu TI iq - T lur v i?n

KM.006463



E N G L ISH FO R N U R S IN G A N D H EA LTH C A R E
A course in general and professional English

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ENGLISH FOR NURSING
AND HEALTH CARE
A course
in general and professional
English

Robin A. Bradley
C artoon Illustrations by
Claudio Be:

A udio C D Included

Me
Graw
Hill
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The McGraw-Hill Companies

E n g lish fo r N u rs in g a n d H e a lth C a r e :
A C o u rs e in G e n e r a l a n d P ro fe ss io n a l E n g lish
I n te r n a tio n a l E d itio n 2008

Me
Graw
Hill

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t

2004

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CO NTENTS

FO R EW O R D

XI

ABO UT THE A U TH O R

XIII

UNIT 1
ENGLISH, THE HOSPITAL AND THE PEOPLE
-A -

W HY IS E N G L ISH IN C L U D ED IN T H E N U R S IN G SY LL A B U S’
Expression and word list

-B -

IN T R O D U C IN G YOURSELF A N D H O SPIT A L STAFF
P ro n u n ciatio n and phonetics

-C -

-D -

-E -

2

1A

3

5
6

A ccepted abbreviations (1)

7

D ifferent countries, nationalities and languages

8

English for work and play

11

H O SPIT A L PE R SO N N E L - HEALTH C A R E W O R K E R S

12

In tro d u ctio n to m edical term inology (1)

14

W A R D S A N D D E PA R TM EN TS IN A H O SPIT A L

15

M edical term inology (2)

16

G R A M M A R N O T E S - P repositions (1)

16

E xpression and word list

20

1B/C/D

TH E PR E SEN T SIM PLE TEN SE ( 1 )

22

T H E PR E SEN T C O N T IN U O U S TEN SE

26

T h e new trainee

28

G R A M M A R N O T E S - T alking ab o u t th e future

28


Contents

-F -

T H E A N A T O M IC A L P O S IT IO N A N D BODY PARTS

31

A djectives and their opposites

-G -

-H -

-I-

-I-

-K -

-M -

\

34

T O IL ET R IES

35

C lo th es and accessories

36

M A C H IN E S, IN S T R U M E N T S A N D O T H E R G A IX '.E T S
Instrum ents and o th er things used for physical exam inations

41

42

Expression and word li't

43

1G/H

DAYS OF T H E WEEK. M O N T H S A N D SE A SO N S

45

M onths of the year

45

Seasons

45

O rdinal num bers

46

Dates

46

G R A M M A R N O T E S - P repositions (2)

46

SH IFT W ORK ERS, TIM E A N D N U M BERS

48

G e ttin g to work (or doing a procedure) - How long does it take?

49

Verbalising num bers

49

DAILY R O U T IN E S - H A B ITS IPRESEN T SIMPLE TEN SE (2)1

52

Example of the routine m orning shift in a surgical ward

54
56

A C T IV IT IE S O F DAILY LIV IN G (AD Ls)

58

Revision o f verbs
C O N D IT IO N A L S f l F ' S E N T E N C E D

60

T A K IN G RISKS
It’s b e tte r to be safe th a n sorry!

66
66

G R A M M A R N O T E S - Verb p attern s

67

W hy take the risk? You know the dam age and disease th a t sm oking causes

6S

G R A M M A R N O T E S - 'sh o u ld ' or 'sh o u ld n ’t'

69

63

“ ■>

HEALTH A N D DISEASE

i V.

“I

I_

Shapes
T h e physiology of physical h e a lth

74
76

To be or n o t to be? - H ealthy, th a t is!

OBSERV ATION

VI

33

C olloquial language using parts o f the body
Expression and word li'-t 1E/F

Profile of a nurse

-L -

29

Signs and sym ptoms
G R A M M A R N O T E S - 'h a v e ' or 'h av e got' - V

or teel'

-P -

-Q -

M ED ICA L T ER M IN O L O G Y (3)

81

M edical term inology - Putting the building blocks together
M edical term inology (4) W h a t’s w rong w ith me?

82
84

A C H E S A N D PA IN S

85

W h a t is pain?

85

A djectives th a t are used to describe pain

87

A ches

87

Revision exercise

88

Expression and word list

-R -

1 I-Q

T H E PRESEN T PERFECT TEN SE ( 1 )

89

93

UNIT 2
THE PATIENT AND THE WARD
-A -

-B -

-C -

-D -

-E -

-F -

G

T1 IE PA TIEN T A S A N IN D IV ID U A L

98

A D M ISS IO N A N D PA TIEN T A SSE SSM E N T

100

A ccepted abbreviations (2)

100

T aking ‘obs’

101

G R A M M A R N O T E S - w ill’ an d ‘w on’t ’

102

A dm ission to hospital

103

S tandard adm ission procedure

103

U N D E R S T A N D IN G C H A R T S

104

PRESSURE A R E A S A N D PRESSU RE SO RES

106

T h e N o rto n Scale of A ssessm ent

106

T H E BED A N D BED LINEN

108

M aking th e bed of an unconscious or bedfast patien t
T H E PR E SEN T PERFECT (2) A N D O T H E R PERFECT T EN SE S

109
110

THE W ARD A N D THE ROO M S

112

G R A M M A R N O T E S - C o n ju n c tio n s

11 3

W h a t is it and w h at’s it for?

114

TH E PASSIVE TEN SE

115

D IR E C T A N D REPO RTED SPEECH

117

PI \N N 1 N G FOR D IS C H A R G E

120

Expression and word list

122


UNIT 3
THE HUMAN BODY
Inside and Out
-A -

LEVELS O F O R G A N IS A T IO N

1 24

-B -

T H E ST R U C T U R E A N D F U N C T IO N O F BODY SYSTEM S

126

Structure

126

G R A M M A R NOTES - Talking about structure

129

Function

no

D IR E C T IO N A L TERM S

132

Planes of division

132

D irectional term s
Body cavities

1 34

C linical divisions of th e abdom en

135

T H E SKELETAL SYSTEM

136

T h e structure of a long bone

137

JO IN T S

139

FR A C TU R ES

140

Cause and effect

141

-F -

M O V E M E N T PO ST U R E A N D LIFTIN G

142

-G -

DISEASE
Predisposing factors in the occurrence of disease

144

T h e body’s lines of defence

1 46

S terilisation, disinfection and antisepsis

148

A ltern ativ e m edicine

14 8

Expression and word list

149

Playing w ith words - M ore idioms using th e nam es of body parts

151

Crossword

152

-C -

-IV

-E -

133

1 46

UNIT 4
DIET AND NUTRITION
-A -

-B -

F O O D A N D FO O D G R O U P S

154

Meals

155

T h e healthy diet pyramid

156

W H A T T O EAT A N D H O W M l'C H

157

G uidelines tor a h e a lth ie r daily diet

15S
15 ^

How n u tritio n affects your h e alth


-C -

Q U A N T IF IE R S

159

C ountable nouns
U ncountable nouns
Spot the difference - Is/Are there any left?

159
1^9
160

Expressions of q uantity

161

-D -

W E IG H T ST A T U S - T H E BODY M A SS INDEX

162

-E -

T H E DIG ESTIV E SYSTEM

163

T h e digestive system

164

T h e functions of the liver

166

-F -

DIFFERENT H O SPIT A L DIETS

168

-G -

SPECIA L DIETS

170

-H -

T h e fluid balance c h art (FBC)

171

Religions and food

172

Patients and th eir problem s

174

FEEDING PA TIEN TS

177

Enteral n u tritio n

178

Intravenous feeding

179

Preparation of food and recipes

180

Recipes
G R A M M A R N O T E S - -ing clauses as co n ju n c tio n

181
182

Expression and word list

183

B IBLIO G RA PH Y

187

ACKNOW LEDGEM ENTS

187

APPENDICES
-1 -

L IST E N IN G EXERCISES

190

-2 -

A N S W E R KEY

206

-3 -

G L O SSA R Y

232

-4 -

W E IG H T S A N D M EA SU RES

242

-5 -

PE R IO D IC TABLE O F T H E ELEM ENTS

243

- 6-

E N G L ISH A L PH A B E T

244

E N G L ISH P H O N E T IC SYMBOLS

244



Foreword

FOREWORD

Several years ago, as a response to the recent changes in education for trainee nurses and students
o f o th e r h e a lth care professions in Italy, th e sub ject of S c ien tific E nglish was in tro d u ced .
Consequently, the nursing school at the C laudiana College in Bolzano/Bozen (w hich is affiliated
w ith the Faculty of M edicine at th e U niversity of V erona) was required to include a 50-hour English
course in the nursing syllabus.
W h en it becam e apparent th a t there was very little m aterial available tor teaching English to
students of h e alth care professions, we launched a project to create an English course w ith co n te n ts
th a t would be of use to our students in th eir future working fields. In co llaboration w ith R obin
Bradley, a specialised h e alth care professional herself, and a local school of English in Bolzano/Bozen,
m aterial for a m odule system was com piled and th en introduced into the nursing curriculum . R obin
Bradley, who has been doing Scientific English courses for all the h ealth professionals at our school
for m ore th a n 15 years, arranged for 10 different E nglish teachers (w ith o u t any p rio r m edical
know ledge) to use the m odules she had prepared. T hese m odules have now been used to teach
Scientific English to m ore th a n 650 nursing students over a 4-year period. D uring this tim e, co n stan t
feedback from the students and the teachers has allowed Ms. Bradley to continually im prove the
m aterial. T h e m odules have now been com pletely revised and have becom e the sections of this
book.
Since research and science will becom e even m ore im portant to the nursing profession in the
future, greater em phasis will have to be placed on English related to the nurses’ training. W e hope
th at this book will be helpful in preparing dedicated young people for their future professional career
in o th er schools as well as at the C laudiana.

Dr. med. Lukas L ochner
(Scientific T utor)

Dr. med. W erner W allnofer
(Course D irector - N ursing)

C L A U D IA N A - P rovincial T e rtia n T raining C o lleg e for H ealth C are Professions, B o l:an o /B o :en , Italy

XI



About the author

A B O UT THE A U TH O R

H aving done my general nursing training at the Royal N o rth Shore H ospital in Sydney, A ustralia,
and th en midwifery at the Royal W om en’s H ospital in association w ith the M elbourne University,
I had more th an 20 years’ experience working in different m edically-related environm ents - general
and private hospitals, nursing hom es and a m edical laboratory - before com ing to Italy to live. My
nursing training was entirely carried out at the hospital at th a t tim e - it was a 4-year course followed
by a n o th er year to specialise in midwifery. W e worked ‘broken shifts’ and atten d ed lectures in our
tim e off! - living in the nurses’ quarters at the hospital m ade this possible.
1 started teaching general English at English schools in S o u th Tyrol and m edical and scientific
English to h e alth care professionals at th e local hospital in Bolzano/Bozen in Italy in 1989. I am
proud of the m any students w ho have followed a m edically-related career and are now successfully
and happily em ployed in their chosen field. I have contin u ed to learn from my students and thanks
to them , my family, my colleagues and friends, and the librarians and staff at the C laudiana College,
this book, the recordings for th e listening exercises and a teachers’ m anual have becom e a reality.
It has been a challenge from the beginning and after 4 years, 1 feel 1 have produced an interesting

and com prehensive course for nurses w ho w ant to im prove th eir English language skills b o th in
social situations and at work.
A ll m edically-related professions have becom e m ore specialised over the years and m ethods and
equipm ent used for teaching and working have changed dram atically in the last few decades. T h e
priority in all areas was and still is, the well-being of the patients in our care. We must all take tim e
to discover th e person behind the p a tie n t and to develop a positive rapport w'ith each and every
one. A ll hum ans are individuals w ith specific needs. Illness, disability or disease puts any person at
a disadvantage. H ospitalisation can be an intim idating and frightening experience and it is im portant
th a t all staff personalise th eir a tte n tio n to patients to ensure the best possible outcom e. Being wellinform ed and w ell-prepared for all situations bring m ultiple benefits to all concerned.

R obin Bradley
SN (D ouble C e rt.) TOEFL (C am bridge)

XIII



UNIT

ENGLISH
THE HOSPITAL AND THE PEOPLE


1A
UNI T

W HY IS ENGLISH INCLUDED
IN TH E NURSING SYLLABUS?
Listening 1 - An in tro d u c tio n to a n u rsin g c a r e e r

R ead th e tex t and liste n to the

recording.
N u rsin g is a profession w hich
involves caring and sharing

M ost scientific conferences and congresses
are now held in E nglish and visiting

w ith people from all walks of

lecturers, colleagues and tutors o ften prefer

life.
C a re

to use English.
and

e m p a th y

are

illustrated, hy each one of us,

♦ In tern a tio n a lly .

♦ W ork E xperience. T h e re is a d e m a n d for nurses in every
c o u n try in th e w orld. N urses c an gain

th ro u g h c o m m u n ica tio n and

valuable experience by w orking overseas

actions.

and also o b ta in h ig h e r q u a lific a tio n s in

A good basic education and
professional nursing training are

specialised fields.
A id-w orkers are req u ired

tools for an exciting, interesting
and rewarding career.

W ork is a v ailab le for nurses in tourist
resorts and h ealth care clinics and even on

English can widen your horizons

cruise ships!

trem endously, help to deepen
your scientific knowledge and
create m any other work-related

in w ar-torn

countries and areas of natural disasters.

♦ E ducation.

Surfing th e In te rn e t for in fo rm a tio n and
research updates.
U sing A m e ric a n and E nglish m edical,

opportunities:

nursin g and scien tific jo u rn als - w hich
often take m o n th s to be translated.
E nglish

d o c u m e n ta rie s

and

science

program m es on satellite TV.
♦ M anuals.

Instruction m anuals for various m achines
and instrum ents are frequently w ritten in
English.

♦ P a tie n t C are.

P a tie n ts w ho c a n n o t c o m m u n ic a te th eir

needs to h o sp ital staff are at a d i 'ti n c t
disadvantage and very often h ave a 'lo w er
recovery rate.
T aiien ts mav p re sen t case h isto rie s

r

m edication details in English.
T h e serv ices offered by all professions are im proved w h e n its
m em bers are w illing to work to g e th e r to help eac h o th e r tnd
w hen they share their individual know ledge. T h e a m o u n t. t -tudv
and the d e p th of know ledge required tor h e a lth care p ro te c t n»
is steadily increasing and all h e a lth care professionals are K -.ng
given m ore responsibility tor the pa tie n ts in their care.


and th a t just m eans treating each person as a w hole,
not as ‘the appendix in Room 2!’ - we m ust look at
W e h a v e to co n sid er th e ir d ifferen t social and
c u ltu ra l backgrounds, d iffere n t religions and
d iffere n t p erso n alities. W ith th e c o lle c tio n and
d istribution of inform ation from the various fields
of m edicine, nursing, physical and social sciences
and allied h e a lth care services, th e services
available to the p a tie n t are becom ing more
so p h istic a te d and specialised. B e tte r
education, m ore scientific knowledge and
faster c o m m u n ic a tio n are c o n tin u a lly
im proving and upgrading h e a lth care.
A great deal o f progress has been m ade

in surgical, e n d o sc o p ic , so n o g rap h ic,
rad io g rap h ic, laser and c o m p u te r
techniques, reducing b oth the tim e and
cost of surgery and tre a tm e n t to the
general

public.

The

speed

at

w h ic h

inform ation can now be transm itted enables
all h e a lth care w orkers to h av e endless
resources at th eir fingertips and gives everyone
th e o pportunity to stay abreast of (or keep up
w ith) new trends and treatm ents.
T h e purpose of this book is to give all those people
working in h e alth care systems enough useful English language to read professional literature, to do
research and to com m unicate successfully in English in their everyday lives. Basic gram m ar exercises,
reading practice and dialogues use relevant vocabulary - and there are exercises to help you increase
your knowledge of m edical term inology too.

EXPRESSION and WORD LIST

1A

To help you le a rn th e follow ing expressions, th ey are listed in alphabetical order in groups of
n o u n s ( n .) , adjectives (a d j.) and verbs (v .). A ll of the w ords in th is list are n o u n s. A n o u n
follow ed by (n .) is a countable n o u n and has a plural form and those th a t are u n co u n ta b le (n.
u n c o u n ta b le ) do not have a plural form a n d use verbs in the singular form only.
aid [eidl (n. uncountable) Money, equipm ent or
services th a t are provided for people or
countries who need it.

health care [hei9 kes] (n. uncountable) All
the areas related to m edicine and the
attention to individual well-being,

an aid -w o rk e r leid w3:ke] (n.) A person,
usually working for a charity organisation,
who offers his/her services in other countries.

patien t IpeiJ'ant] care (n. uncountable) All
areas involved - m ental, physical and
psychological - in looking after a patient,

c a re Ikeo] (n. uncountable) Looking after somebody
or som ething and keeping them in a good
state or condition.

c a r e e r [k.Vris] In .) T h e job or profession th a t
someone does for a long period ot their life.

1A

each p a tie n t as an individual w ith specific needs.

UNI T

Because p a tie n t care depends on the holistic approach -


1A
UNI T

rew arding IriWdig] career (adj. + n .) A
career th a t is stim ulating and brings job
satisfaction and/or benefits.
clinic [klinik] (n.) A building where people go to
receive medical advice or treatm ent.
e m p a th y |empa9i] (n. uncountable) The ability to
share another person's feelings and emotions
as if they were yours.
e n v iro n m e n t [e n 'v aira n W n t] (n. uncountable) The
physical world in which people, animals and
plants live.

s ta ff [sta:f] (n .p l.) T h e people who work tor an
organisation.
hospital staff/personnel (n. pi.) T he people
who work for that hospital.
s u rg e ry I'ssdjsri] (n .) M edical treatm en t th at
involves cutting open the hodv and otten
removing or replacing parts,
sy lla b u s [sila'bas] (n .) T h e subjects studied in a

particular course.
nursing syllabus T he subjects included in
the nursing degree (university) course.

h e a lth [hel6] (n. uncountable) T he condition of the
hum an body and the extent to which it is
free from illness or can resist illness.

tool [tu:l| (n.) Any hand-held instrum ent or simple
piece of equipm ent you need to do your job
properly.

le c tu re r [lek't/.Vrol (n.) A teacher at a university or
college.

the tools of your trade The skills or abilities,
instrum ents or equipm ent you need to be
able to do your job properly.

visiting lecturers (adj. + n.) Teachers who
come from other universities or colleges on
a temporary basis.

train in g [treinigl (n. uncountable) Learning the skills
for a particular profession or activity.

o p p o rtu n ity [opo'tjuina'til (n.) A situation in which
it is possible for you to do something that
you want to do.

nursing training T he course you do while
learning the skills and theory to become a
professional nurse.

w ork-related o p p o rtu n ities (adj. + n .)
Different situations or areas where you can
work in your chosen field.

w o rk e rs (w3:kaz| (n. p i) Particular people who do
the kind of work m entioned.

p e rso n n e l lp3sa'nel] (n.pl.) The people who work
for an organisation (or the armed forces).
professional [pra'fe/a'nll (n.) A person who has a
job th at requires advanced education or
training.
rate Ireit] (n.) The speed or the amount of time it
takes for something to happen.
re co v e ry (ri'k.wril (n. uncountable) If a sick person
makes a recovery, he/she gets well (returns
to good health).
re la tio n sh ip [ra'leijan'/ip] (n.) T he way in which 2
people, groups or countries behave towards
each other.
skill (skill (n.) A type of work or activity which
requires special training and knowledge.

w

W ith all the stu d e n ts in the class, read

this list of n eii• w ords out loud, paving a tte n tio n
to yo u r p r o n u n c ia tio n . N ow , w o rk u i t h a
partner: say a w ord and ask your partner for a
suitable definition.


UNI T
Hello, Annie! We were expecting you to join us today. I'm a S ta ff ^
Nurse here in the Surgical W ard at the Royal General Hospital. 1
finished my training 2 years ago in Australia and love working here. M y
name is Rosie and I ’d like to introduce you to a few of my colleagues...

In this ward, Sister Pat is the Ward Charge Nurse and M r. James is
our Head Consultant and surgeon. Dr. Singh is the Senior House
Officer and I'll introduce you to some of the others soon. We work with
all the other health care workers in the hospital, that is, the
physiotherapists, the occupational therapists, the dieticians and many
others. Firstly, this is Sandra...
She has been here longer than me... H i, Sandra! I'd like to introduce
you to Anna Kennedy. She is starting her work experience today....

How can I re member who everyone is?
I hope I say the right things...
This is Rosie - she's a Senior Staff Nurse.
Dr. Singh is.........................
What is the Consultant's name?
I'm going to meet the Charge Nurse soon.
Her name's............ Oh! This is Sandra.
She's a staff nurse too.

Q f
F orm al:

Introducing Yourself, Friends and Colleagues
How do you do’

How do you do?
May 1 introduce you to ........ ?

.............this is................

I'd like to introduce you to ............

It's a pleasure to meet you.
It's a pleasure to meet you.

No, I haven’t ... It's a pleasure ...

H ave you m e t.......................... ?
G o o d m orning. My nam e is..............
Excuse me, are you..................?
I’m sorrv. I d id n 't h ear your nam e.
Less F orm al: H ello lo r H i!)
Do vou k n o w ............................ ?

............this is.................... Nice to meet \ou.

1 d o n 't th in k we've m et. I’m .................
H ello, are vou........................... ?

1B

IN TR O D U C IN G YOURSELF A N D HOSPITAL STAFF


UNI T

IB

PRONUNCIATION AND PHONETICS
M edical and technical words are sim ilar in m ost languages, but th e p ro n u n c ia tio n is
very different!
C o rrect pron u n ciatio n will m ake a big difference in th e understanding o f spoken
English.
U n derstanding th e p h o n e tic symbols helps th e stu d e n t lea m new w ords a n d th e
English p ronunciation from dictionaries and to gradually build up a good general and
m edical vocabulary. M ore im portantly, these new words can be readily understood.
P honetic symbols in English are divided into c onsonant sounds, vowel sounds and
diphthongs (w hich are 2 vowel sounds to g eth er). Study the Phonetics Reference in
Appendix 6.
It isn’t necessary to m em orise all th e symbols but reference to th e table a n d practice
will help you recognise them in dictionaries and work easily through th is book.
‘SC H W A ’ [a]: ‘Schw a’ (num ber 12 on the reference ch art) is th e m ost im portant
vowel sound in English (but it is very different because it often replaces any o f th e
o th er vowel sounds in the English language). It is used in syllables o f words w here
there is no em phasis. T h e following exercises will help you to understand this.

I . Look a t the following w ords and decide

viy

J

4. C h e ck y our a n sw e rs w ith th e sam e

on the correct pronunciation w ith a partner.

words w ritte n using phonetic sym bols.

W here is the m ain e m p h a sis? Is it on the first

[dokta].......................... [ p e i/a n tl...............................

or the second syllable of the w ord?

b .d ^ a n !] .........

a bout

pocket

pupil

apron

circus

M a rk the strong syllable w ith a dot (')
on the top. Now, practise saying the words and

[tek 'n i/an ].......... ........ [k am 'pju:ta]...........................
[im 'p3:tantl

........ [kli:na].....................................

la 'm e rik a ]......... ........ [rikA vri].................................

p u t a circle around the other vow el(s) in the
tio rd . W h ich letters are not em phasised?

...... in u tn a d ^ a l .....................

[ p r s k t i s ] ...........

...... U fia ] ..............................

[tnrai’i ............... ........ [fa:m asil.................................
2. Look at the same words w ritten in phonetics
below and check that the Kneels you circled are

5. Look a t th e se w o rd s in p h o n e tic

w ritten as ‘schw a’. C an you recognise th e m 1

tra n scrip tio n . W rite th e w ords next to th e m .

|s3:kas]

T hey all appear in th e te x t on pages 2 a n d 3.

[abaut]

[eipran]

[pju:pal]

[pDkatl

[m aen'ju:al]..................[a k s'p i:ria n s].........................
T h is exercise dem onstrates th a t any vowel in
English can have a weak p ronunciation, i.e. [a].

Ip ra te fan | ................... [helQ].......................................
[ka'm ju m i'k eit]...........[disad'veentid 3] ....................

W hich ivwel(s)/syllables in the following
[in 's tr.\k /a n l................[w 3:k]......................................
words hare w eak pronunciation, i.e. ‘sch w a ’?
3.

Am erica

m anager

cleaner

urgent

patien t

im portant

foreign

pharm acy

recovery

o th er

practice

com puter

doctor

technician

^

L istening 2 - P h o n e tic s

L isten to the

recording a n d ch eck your an sw ers. T h e n ch eck
the spelling in the tex t on pages 2 a n d 3.


UNI T

ACCEPTED ABBREVIATIONS (1)

saying th e follow ing accepted abbreviations w ith a partner, using the letters o f the alphabet w ith
th e correct p ronunciation.
In te rn a tio n a l O rgan isatio n s:

UN

W HO

CDC

P e rso n a l D etails:

DO B

M /F

M /W /D

H o sp ita l C h a rts :

C a - 2 meanings:
BP

1 (an element)
TPR
IV

2 (a disease)
H b (a blood test)
IM

EDD (Obstetrics)
TLC

NAD
FBE (a blood test)

XR or X/R
G A /L A
O T (a person/job)
G e n era l U se:

Q ualifications:

J

ASAP

V IP

NB

e.g.
TLC

i.e.
etc.

c
OK

RN

BSc

P hD

C heck if your p a rtn e r know s w h a t th ey sta n d for. W rite as m a n y as you can in fu ll.

e.g. U N [ju: en] stands for ‘the United Nations’.

Do you know w hat the

Yes, I do. T hey stand for]

letters U N stand for?

‘the U n ited N ations'.

J * H ere are som e m ore com m only used abbreviations. W rite th e m in full below.
K

Pt
gm

(an Imperial liquid measure) RBC

fl oz

(an illness) A ID S

MS

SID (S)

HIV

(cytology)
(an illness)
(neonatology)

(location) L

R

OD

IQ
ENT

(location)
(diagnosis)

(medical) BBC

A&E

(hospital department) EDD
(an illness) PM T /PM (S)

TB
O T /O R
H 20

(n.)
(v.)

(adv.)

(coll.)

(irreg.)

(reg. )

BC

AD

W h ere w ould you see

th ese abbreviations?

(obstetncs)
(a gynaecological problem)

(hospital department) RC

(adj.)

©

(an element - penodic table)

(a measure of weight) h t & wt

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

In
In
In
In
In

a doctor's notes
a p atient's case history
a history textbook
a cooking book
an English stu d e n t’s book (or a d ictionary)

(religion)

IB

A lot o f w ords and expressions used in hospitals a n d other fields of m edicine are abbreviated to
letters only. U sing th e alphabet pronunciation reference section at the back of the book, practise


DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES
Good morning , Rosie.
Hello. Annie! It's nice to meet you. uelcome
to the best and busiest uard in the hospital.
There are 4 ne u' nurses starting here t/us ueefc
- you're the fir st!
Most of our suiff are from different countries,
I'm English. I was bom in York. Rosie is
Australian and Pat is Irish! Dr. Singh is
Indian. Mr. Ja >es u'as bom in G erm any and

u here do you c me from ’ ...O h , South
Africa, really!,

..It's beautiful there! Where

exactly in South Africa.’

Listening 3a - C o u n trie s a n d n a tio n a litie s

L iste n to the recording a n d p ractise the

conversation.
Look a t these

I com e from England./I’m from England.

I’m English.

exam ples:

Dr. Singh com es from India./H e’s from India.
Sister Rosie comes from A ustralia./R osie’s from A ustralia.

H e's Indian
She's A ustralian.

Now, w rite the nationality (w h ich is very often the sam e as tke na m e of the language).
N a tio n a lity , A djectiv e A N D

C o u n try

L anguage(s)
A lbania

[ael'bein'ia]

A rgentina

[aidjsn'tiina]

C h in a

[t/aina]

England

[iggland]

France

[fra:ns/fraens]

G erm any

[d33:mani]

G reece

[gri:s]

H olland (T h e N eth erlands)

[holond - 80 nefia'landz]

Ireland

[eiland]

Italy

[itali]

Japan

[dja'paen]

Korea

[kari:a]

Portugal

[pa:t'ju:gall

S cotland

[skDtland]

Spain

[spein]

Switzerland

[sw itzaland]

T h e U n ited States

[3a'ju:neitidlsteits]

Turkey

[t3:ki]

W ales

[weilz]


L iste n in g 3 b - E x erc ise

C h e ck your a n sw e rs . T h e n correct th e sp ellin g o f th e

P r a c tis e sa y in g th e n a m e s o f th e co u n trie s a n d th e n a tio n a litie s . C a n you add m ore

the different countries.

C om plete th e follow ing sentences w ith the correct adjectives. R em em b er th ey alw ays start
w ith a capital letter.
1. Swiss people usually speak at least 3 or 4 languages, i.e. they can s p e a k ...................... , .....................,
........................and very often th eir very own ‘R o m antic’ la n g u a g e .............................
2. C h ia n ti is a w e ll-k n o w n .................wine, C ham pagne i s .....................and Calvados i s ........................
3. W h at language(s) do people speak (a) in H olland, (b) in G reece, (c) in Tunisia, (d) in Palestine?

4. The Lancet is a n ............................ m edical jo u rn al, L ’Infermiere is an
new sletter and La Recherche is a ................................. magazine.

©

Look a t the p ictu res. W h a t do you th in k

th e people are saying?

nursing

IB

©

countries a n d n ationalities to the lis t1 W ith your partner, discuss the languages people speak in

UNI T

9

nationalities in the tapescript a t the back of the book.