Thank you.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Easy English.
I'm your host Oliver, and in this podcast we talk about real life topics with useful English, in a slow and clear way, so that you can understand and improve your listening and understanding skills.
So today we have a really, really useful life topic.
And that is a skill, a life skill that can sometimes feel a little bit scary, especially when you're in a new country.
Maybe you're speaking a new language and you're on holiday or you've moved abroad.
This is navigating healthcare.
So going to a doctor and visiting a doctor and asking questions or being asked questions about our health.
So we're specifically going to look at how to talk to a doctor or other medical professionals in English.
So this is part of our real life skills series.
I had other episodes on restaurants and also airports, I think as well.
So we're going to continue that little series today.
So knowing what to say and what questions to ask can make you feel much more confident and help you to get the care and support that you need.
But don't worry, we're going to keep it simple and very practical today.
First, before we look at our key vocabulary for the episode, I want to tell you that I have made an Instagram account.
Yes, that's right, an Instagram account.
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I've also put my Instagram handle.
It is at easyenglish.pod.
So easyenglish.pod. is the Instagram handle, or you can click the link in the description below.
So go and follow me there.
I will post some short videos, maybe some updates to some stories, that type of thing.
So do go and follow me.
It's of course free and it'll help you get more easy English content.
And also I want to mention we've had a great support of my new book.
The link is also in the description.
It's one link and you can access the Patreon, the book and other information too.
So it's stan.store slash Easy English Podcast.
So that's stan.store slash Easy English Podcast.
So nice and easy to find.
So let's go to the doctor's office.
But first, we are going to look at five very useful words that you will hear during our chat today.
So please listen out for them.
The first word is symptom.
Symptom.
And this is a noun.
So a symptom is a physical or mental sign that shows that you might have a particular illness or problem.
So, for example, a cough is a symptom, a common symptom of a cold.
So the next one is appointment.
This is our next word.
An appointment is a noun.
And this is a formal arrangement to meet someone at a particular time.
In this case it is an appointment, an arrangement to meet a doctor at a certain time or in a certain place.
Our next word for today is prescription.
Prescription.
And this is also a noun.
And a prescription is a piece of paper from a doctor which allows you to get medicine from a pharmacy.
So the doctor gave a prescription for antibiotics, for example.
And then you get the piece of paper and you can go and collect those antibiotics.
Our next word, so this is the fourth one, is diagnosis.
Diagnosis it's a noun too, so quite difficult words today, but bear with me.
So diagnosis, this is the identification of the nature of an illness or another problem by examination of the symptoms.
So we're looking at the symptoms that a person has said and the doctor, after doing some tests and understanding the symptoms, gives a diagnosis.
A diagnosis okay, and our final word is a referral.
A referral, and this is a noun too, so referral is the act of sending someone or something for professional help or advice.
So usually if the doctor finds something, they will give you a referral, sometimes to see a specialist.
So a doctor that specialises in that area.
So keep these words in mind as we're going to talk about visiting the doctor.
So you want to listen out for some of these words.
And...
Of course, during the episode, there's going to be lots of different words, new words, as well as the ones that we've just learned.
The purpose of learning these words before listening to the rest of the podcast is it allows us to actively listen for this new vocabulary in context.
So I hope it helps you to learn something.
Okay, so let's continue our episode.
So the first step to seeing a doctor is usually making an appointment.
Yeah, so making an appointment, that arrangement to see the doctor and to chat to them.
So in many English speaking countries, you will need to call the doctor's office or clinic.
And here are some phrases that you might use.
You could say, hello, I'd like to make an appointment to see a doctor, please.
Or you might ask, are there any appointments available today or tomorrow?
You could ask for a specific doctor as well.
You might say, is doctor, the doctor's name available?
So the receptionist, who is the person answering the phone at the doctor's office, they might ask you a few different questions.
The first might be, what is your name?
A very simple one.
They could also ask, are you a new patient?
So it means, is it your first time at the clinic or visiting the doctor?
They could also ask, what is the reason for your visit?
So basically what's wrong?
And you can keep this general if you want.
You can say, I have some symptoms that I would like to discuss with my doctor.
And finally, they might ask when you want to come in, or they may tell you when you should come to see the doctor.
Remember, it's absolutely okay on the phone to ask them to repeat if you don't understand.
And in person too.
You could say, can you please repeat that?
It's always a good phrase.
Just can you or could you please repeat that?
And you could also ask them to speak a little bit slower.
Those are easy phrases to try and understand because understanding is often harder over the phone.
Even for native speakers, sometimes it can be difficult to understand people on the phone.
I know I find it hard.
If the connection is bad or maybe the phone that they're calling from is poor quality.
With bad signal, it can be really hard to understand exactly what they're saying.
Okay, so once we have our appointment, once you're with the doctor, the most important part is describing your symptoms clearly.
So those things that you're experiencing, right?
The doctor will need to understand what you are feeling in order to make a correct diagnosis, or maybe a correct sort of guess at what may be a diagnosis right.
And I'm going to give you a few phrases about some common feelings or symptoms, right?
So how to describe maybe how you're feeling with your stomach or your head.
I'll give you a few words.
Of course you're better translating the words that you're experiencing or feeling before you go to a doctor.
But this is just to give you a little bit of an idea, a bit of a feeling.
Okay, so some of those symptoms that you can describe, the first might be, if we're talking about your head,
For example, if your head is sore, you might say you know I have a headache, or I often am getting headaches.
Or you can say my head hurts. or my head is sore.
Those are some different ways to describe pain, sort of like painful feelings with your head.
With the likes of a common cold, for example, you might say I have a sore throat or my throat hurts.
So again, you can say sore or hurts.
You might also say aches, aches, like a headache, right?
My throat aches.
My throat is sore.
My throat hurts.
Those are all different ways to say the same thing.
So choose the word that is most suitable for you, right?
You might also say aches, that you feel tired.
So i feel very tired, i feel maybe you might be dizzy, so you feel off balance, not so balanced, and or you might feel nauseous.
Nauseous that's when you feel a little bit sick in your stomach.
So oh, i feel nauseous.
Um, and when you're describing any of these symptoms, you can say you know, i've been feeling, then the symptom for, and then the length of time.
For example, I've been feeling a sore throat for two weeks or I've been feeling tired for a week.
And this gives the doctor the information that he needs about that symptom.
So it gives him what the symptom is and how long you have had it in that one sentence.
So it's very helpful.
The doctor might ask you when you meet them, what are your symptoms?
How long have you had these symptoms?
Where does it hurt?
Is the pain constant?
Is it all the time or does it come and go?
And finally, have you taken any medicine?
Have you taken any medicine?
So be as specific as you can, but don't worry about having perfect English.
The doctor will try his best to or her best to understand your effort to explain your symptoms.
So don't worry.
So after you describe your symptoms, the doctor will usually try to give you a diagnosis or to make a diagnosis right.
And that will be their opinion on what your health problem is.
And they'll also perhaps discuss the treatment and some of the solution that they will offer you as to what to do next.
So they could say you know, my diagnosis is a common cold.
But they'll probably say it not like formal.
For example, my diagnosis is.
He'll probably say he or she will probably say I think that you have and what he thinks.
OK, so they might say just simply you have this illness, you know, you have a flu, you have a cold.
And if you don't understand what it is that they've said again, just ask can you explain what that is?
So once you've been diagnosed so you've received your diagnosis the doctor may write you a prescription, and they could say I'm going to write you a prescription for this medicine.
OK.
And they'll give you some instructions.
So take this medicine twice per day, for example.
You should get plenty of rest.
You should drink a lot of water.
These are some advice, some pieces of advice the doctor might give you.
And like I mentioned earlier, they may refer you to a specialist for further investigation.
So in this case, the doctor may say, I'm giving you a referral to see a specialist.
So that means that they're going to give you a referral to see a different doctor, a more specialist doctor, for this problem.
But don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand the diagnosis or the instructions for your prescription.
But usually on the prescription.
So on the medicine It will be written how to take it and the advice for what to do with it.
OK, but here are some phrases that you can use if you don't understand.
Once again, this is a really easy phrase.
Could you please explain that again?
Or you could simply say, you know, excuse me, what does that mean?
So you're asking for further explanation.
If you're getting a medicine, you might want to know, are there any side effects?
So that's something you could ask.
Are there any side effects?
So any reactions that you might have from the medicine?
And you could ask them, when should I expect to feel better?
If you want to know when the medicine should work, right?
So it's always better to ask and be clear about your treatment.
So now we're going to take a short break and look at our listener spotlight.
So in the last episode on Monday, it wasn't too long ago, I asked, let me see my question.
I asked you know if you could go to one country?
If you want to visit one country, where is it and why?
So I had a couple of answers.
I had two people write answers into this.
I'm recording this on Tuesday, so there hasn't been a lot of time to answer yet.
But I had two very good answers.
I'm going to share them today.
So the first answer was from Marina.
So she said, good day.
My name is Marina.
I am from Ukraine.
I would like to visit Italy one day because I love to cook and eat the tasty dishes.
And I think that Italian food is one of the most delicious in the world.
Thank you, Marina.
That's a great, great comment.
So Italy, absolutely wonderful country.
We actually have a lot of listeners from Italy.
I think from the statistics, I see about 7% of our listeners are from Italy.
That's almost 1 in 10.
I think Italy is a fantastic country.
I agree with you.
It's a beautiful country.
And the food is very good.
Very high quality.
Lots of classic, amazing dishes.
And I love traveling to Italy.
I can't wait to go back again.
So thank you very much for the comment, Marina.
That's fantastic.
We had another comment through.
We don't have a name, but it's a comment that came from Germany.
And this comment says I would like to visit Ethiopia and discover their coffee culture.
Cheers from Germany.
That's some great local slang there.
Cheers.
I love that.
That means thanks.
So I agree, Ethiopia, that would be a great country to visit.
I love coffee too, so it could be fantastic to try some lovely, fresh local coffee and experience their coffee culture.
So excellent comment.
I send my regards to Germany.
Thank you for listening.
Okay, so let's go back to the main episode.
But first, I'm going to ask a question for our next week's episode, right?
So I want you to comment in the comment below the episode.
If you're on YouTube or Spotify, wherever you're listening, I want you to comment what your hmm.
What could I do today?
I want you to comment about one hobby or activity that you like doing.
So what is one hobby or activity that you like doing in your free time and why do you like it?
We've had some great answers to this question in the past, so I would love to ask it again.
So one activity or hobby that you like to do and why?
And I will read some of your answers in an episode next week.
So do leave a comment.
I love to read your answers and what you guys think.
OK, so let's go back.
OK, so some final tips for any health care conversations, any conversations with doctors or or with stuff related to medicine, if you're in an English country.
So you want to be ready to clearly describe your symptoms.
And what that means is if you have to use a translation app or a dictionary or anything before you go, find out how to describe your symptoms.
Okay, so you want to be able to describe how you're feeling, how long you've been feeling it for, and any details that might be important for the doctor to make their diagnosis.
Don't be afraid to ask for clarification, some more information about your diagnosis or prescription, And always make an appointment unless it's an emergency.
So you want to arrange your appointment unless it's an emergency.
Of course, in that case, you would go straight to the hospital.
And remember if the doctor gives you a referral, that means that they want you to see someone else that's usually more of an expert in that area.
So hopefully these simple phrases and vocabulary will help you feel much more confident and in control when you need some kind of medical help in English.
So today we have covered essential English for navigating healthcare, from making an appointment to describing your symptoms and understanding your diagnosis and prescription.
So great words for you.
And knowing these words and phrases can really help you to reduce your stress in these important moments when we have to use them for medical help.
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Thank you very much for your support and I will see you in the next episode.
Goodbye.
