As a healthcare professional, you're dedicated to providing all your patients with the best treatment available, whatever language they happen to speak. Providing effective care, however, requires not only a thorough medical background but also an ability to clearly communicate with your patients. You need to be able to take your patients through the entire process - from meeting and greeting them to filling out paperwork, and from asking them questions to delivering your diagnosis, treatment plan, and instructions.

In the course of a single chapter, we can't possibly tell you everything you need to know to fully understand what your Spanish-speaking patients tell you or what you need to tell them, but we can bring you up to speed on the basics and show you how to communicate in the most common scenarios. Here, we cover the basics of gathering information from patients and explaining to patients the diagnosis and treatment.

REMEMBER

Refer to the early chapters in Book I for basic coverage of conversational Spanish, including a pronunciation guide in Chapter 1. Book I, Chapter 3 leads you through the basics of meeting and greeting people, while Chapter 4 shows you how to engage in small talk - for when you're just getting to know your patients.

First Things First: Key Words and Emergency Lingo

Whatever your role is in serving patients - whether you're a receptionist meeting the patient for the first time or the doctor who ultimately provides diagnosis and treatment - you need to know some basic doctor's office vocabulary and how to communicate with patients in emergency situations. In the following sections, we introduce you to some general terminology along with Spanish names for body parts and internal organs. We also provide key phrases for dealing with accidents and emergencies.

Doctor-speak: Using basic terminology

When you're in a healthcare situation, whether in a doctor's office, pharmacy, or emergency room, you're likely to use many of the terms in Table 1-1.

Naming body parts

Fortunately, you and your patient can probably refer to body parts simply by pointing to them - although this method can get a bit tricky when it comes to internal organs. A more efficient way to communicate with your Spanish-speaking patients is to brush up your Spanish anatomy terminology. Table 1-2 brings you up to speed and acts as a quick reference.

Dealing with emergencies

In emergency situations, you have very little time to establish rapport with the patient. You need to find out what's going on in a hurry and then issue whatever commands necessary to get the patient to cooperate. Here's a list of questions that can help you quickly ascertain what happened and evaluate the patient's condition:

When you encounter an emergency situation, you need to take control and tell the patient exactly what you need her to do. These short commands are often all you need:

Admitting New Patients

The first encounter with a new patient is likely to be one of the most important, and it usually occurs with the receptionist who answers the phone and greets the patient when she arrives. This initial contact is when the patient first explains what's going on and why she needs to see a doctor, sets an appointment, completes the necessary paperwork, and discusses details relating to insurance and payments.

In the following sections, we reveal some basic terminology and phrases you need to know at this point and present you with dialogues of some common scenarios so you can begin to tune in to your Spanish-speaking patients.

REMEMBER

A smile always conveys concern and compassion and makes a patient feel more at ease. This advice may seem trite, but people often forget how important body language can be, especially when they may be struggling with a language barrier.

TIP

One of the most common questions you're going to get is Dnde est el bao? (dohn-deh ehs-tah ehl bvah-nyoh) (Where's the bathroom?) You have two options here: You can escort the person to the nearest bathroom or give the person directions, as discussed in Book I, Chapter 8.

Setting appointments and asking initial questions

When a patient calls into the office, you need to gather some basic information - including the patient's complaint, name, and phone number - and then set up an appointment for the patient to see the doctor. The following dialogue leads you through a typical preliminary phone conversation.

Talkin' the Talk

Mrs. Cruz calls her doctor to set up an appointment. The receptionist, Janice, answers the call, obtains the necessary information from Mrs. Cruz, and then schedules the appointment. Here's how such a conversation is likely to go.

Janice: Bueno. Esta es la oficina de los Doctres Smith, Rowe, y Cline. bvooeh-noh ehs-tah ehs lah oh-fee-see-nah deh lohs dohk-toh-rehs smeeth, roh, ee kline Hello. This is the...