American Hospital English

By Laura Medlin

This is a book of 29 English language puzzles and exercises for anyone interested in the type of English language used in American hospitals. It can be used by all levels of both native and non-native speakers of English, professionals and non-professionals who are already working or others pursuing medical or healthcare studies. All of the vocabulary and phrases in this book are comprised of at least one or more elements of the subjects of anatomy and physiology, health and disease, diagnostics, surgical interventions, pharmacology, policies and procedures, job descriptions, equipment and/or patient care situations. The authentic language includes colloquial and slang terms while modeling phrases and repeating grammatical forms used in a healthcare context. Many of the phrases resemble those that may be encountered during classes or examinations for various healthcare occupations. Drawings provide visual cues to help contextualize the language. It can be a fun and challenging way to become familiar with the words, sentences, abbreviations and symbols of the American hospital environment. This book may also be of value to instructors of language or healthcare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479792849

Laura Medlin

Laura Medlin is a registered nurse who has worked in the clinical patient care setting for over 20 years. She has also earned a Bachelor's degree in Humanities and a Master's degree in Teaching International Languages following a TESOL pattern. This book merges the topics of language study and U.S. healthcare. The author lives and works in Northern California.

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Copyright © 2013 by Laura Medlin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 02/13/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

128938

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1: Pronunciation Key

Chapter 2: Word Puzzles

Appendix A: Answers to Puzzles

Appendix B: Hospital Abbreviations

Appendix C: Recommended Books

This book is dedicated to all hard-working people in hospitals everywhere.

PREFACE

This is a book of English language exercises for anyone interested in the type of English language used in American hospitals. It can be used by all levels of both native and non-native speakers of English, professionals and non-professionals who are already working, or others who may be pursuing medical or healthcare studies.

All of the vocabulary and phrases in this book are comprised of at least one or more elements of the subjects of anatomy and physiology, health and disease, diagnostics, surgical interventions, pharmacology, policies and procedures, job descriptions, equipment and/or patient care situations. The authentic language includes colloquial and slang terms while modeling phrases and repeating grammatical forms used in a healthcare context. Many of the phrases resemble those that may be encountered during classes or examinations for various healthcare occupations. Drawings provide visual cues to help contextualize the language. It is a fun and challenging way to become familiar with the words, sentences, abbreviations and symbols of the American hospital environment.

The information in this book is solely the work of the author and is in no way meant to substitute for official clinical or classroom instruction. The exercises are intended solely as vocabulary and communication practice and are in no way intended to represent official medical documents. Professional medical illustrations have been obtained from Old-Time Anatomical Illustrations CD-ROM & Book (2005), edited by Jim Harter. Dover Publications, Inc., New York.

All other illustrations by the author.

Dear Reader,

- Use pencil or write on a separate piece of paper in order to work exercises more than once.

- Practice reading, writing and speaking the sentences.

- Memorize the vocabulary and phrases.

- Ask a friend who speaks English to help you with pronunciation.

See you at work!

CHAPTER 1

Pronunciation Key

The phonetic pronunciations provided have been created by and are based solely on the author’s interpretation of common English usage in the state of California. The symbols used are derived from those of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Readers are strongly encouraged to consult with an English-speaking friend or co-worker for help with pronunciation.

- Phonetic spellings will appear after the word between 2 slanted lines like this: word /wɜ:d/.

- Syllables will be separated by a dash (—) like this: syll-a-bles /’sɪl-ə-bəlz/.

- The accented syllable will be marked with an apostrophe before it like this: a-’po-stro-phe /ʌ-’pɒ-strə-fɪ:/.

- Look up the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) online for more information.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols used in this book:

Vowel sounds:

image1.jpg

Consonant sounds:

image2.jpg

English alphabet with phonetic pronunciations:

image3.jpg

Numbers with phonetic pronunciations:

image4.jpg

*Examples:

American /ə-’meə-ɪ-kən/

English /’ɪ:ŋ-glɪʃ/

healthcare /’helө-keə/

hospital /’hɒ-spɪ-dəl/

language /’læŋ-gwɪʤ/

pronunciation /prə-nʌn-sɪ:-’eɪ-ʃən/

puzzles /pʌ-zəlz/

vocabulary /vəʊ-’kæb-ju:-leə-ɪ:/

CHAPTER 2

Word Puzzles

PUZZLE #1

Crossword Puzzle: