
ENGLISH FOR MEDICAL
Unit 1 In and around the hospital
TOPICS
- Hospital personnel
- Nursing
- Hospital departments
- Medical equipment
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – job interviews
- Reading – the nursing profession
- Writing – giving directions
- Speaking – nurses on the ward
- Grammar – prepositions; present simple and present continuous verb tenses
Unit 2 Admissions, Accident and emergencies
TOPICS
- Admissions procedure
- Recording patient information
- First aid
- Signs & Symptoms
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – recording details
- Reading – admission forms
- Writing – completing forms; medical history
- Speaking – giving information
- Grammar – questions and answers; affirmative and negative questions
Unit 3 Pain
TOPICS
- Describing pain
- Describing Symptoms
- Diagnosing ailments
- Pain relief & prescribing medication
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – reporting ailments
- Reading – analysing pain report
- Writing – completing pain reports
- Speaking – reporting to questions
- Grammar – comparisons; superlatives and comparatives.
Unit 4 Symptoms
TOPICS
- Describing symptoms
- Human anatomy
- Case studies, e.g. back pain
- Medical aids
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – interpreting a helpline call; listening for gist.
- Reading – identifying condition form symptom report
- Writing – writing symptom reports
- Speaking – describing medical history
- Grammar – question forms; use of adjectives.
Unit 5 Caring for the elderly
TOPICS
- Age care facilities
- Medical problems of old age/ effects of aging
- Safety in the home
- Case study – Alzheimer’s Disease
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – responding to complaints
- Reading – case study reading
- Writing – letter of introduction/ referral to age care facility
- Speaking – Stating personal needs
- Grammar – future tenses; modal verbs
Unit 6 Nutrition & Obesity
TOPICS
- Food types
- A balanced diet/ food pyramid
- Lifestyle diseases
- Causes of obesity
- Diabetes & eating disorder
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – TV commercials
- Reading – analysing statistics
- Writing – Advising
- Speaking – Giving advice
- Grammar – modal verbs; conjunctions
Unit 7 Blood
TOPICS
- Blood types, patterns and transfusion
- Blood bank and donors
- Blood tests and analysis
- Diseases of the blood
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – Accidents report
- Reading – Blood transmitted diseases (AIDS)
- Writing – Blood cells and renewing the cells
- Speaking – Blood components , functions and usage
- Grammar – adverbs (frequency, manner, place…etc)
Unit 8 Hygiene
TOPICS
- Personal Hygiene
- Food handling
- Hygiene in the hospital environment
- Sterilization procedures
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – Listening to and interpreting instructions
- Reading – Reading
- Writing – writing a hygiene laboratory notice
- Speaking – Giving instructions
- Grammar – modals of obligation; imperatives.
Unit 9 Monitoring the patient
TOPICS
- Hospital bedside manner
- Taking vital signs
- Interpreting instrument readings and measurements
- Describing procedures
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – following doctor’s instructions and commentary
- Reading – interpreting medical test results
- Writing – recording daily observations
- Speaking – appropriate nurse/ patient bedside manner
- Grammar – passive voice; present continuous
Unit 10 Medication and treatments
TOPICS
- Classification of drugs/ medication
- Types of medication
- Administering medication/ dosage
- Alternative treatment/s, therapies -Mind and body therapies (yoga, sports, aqua- puncture, massaging…etc)
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Listening – listening to doctor’s prescribed medication and to nurse’s instructions
- Reading – Herbal alternative treatment sources
- Writing – Side effects of overdose or under dose
- Speaking – expressing side effects and relevant discomfort
- Grammar – present simple and continuous tenses. Using feeling verbs.