Essential Hospital Vocabulary and Phrases
Hospital Vocabulary
Personnel
- Charge nurse/Sister: Enfermera a cargo
- Cleaner: Limpiador
- Consultant: Médico especialista
- Paramedic: Paramédico, ambulancia
- Porter: Celador
- Receptionist: Recepcionista
- Surgeon: Cirujano
- Triage nurse: Enfermera de triaje
- Scrub nurse: Enfermera de quirófano
Room Elements
Bed, buzzer, chair, drawer (cajón), light, locker (armario), table, TV.
Hospital Actions
- Change dressings
- Treat wounds
- Give health checks
- Give advice on certain topics
- Run a clinic (dirigir una clínica)
Symptoms
Skin: A rash (una erupción), a bruise (un moratón), a lump (un bulto), spots (granos), a black eye.
General: Cough (tos), sneezing (estornudo), constipated (estreñido), injuries, abdominal pain, chest pain, contusion, respiratory issues, sprain (esguince), asthma, bleeding, broken wrist, colic, infection, nausea, dizzy (mareado), swell (hinchado).
Respiratory System: Asthmatic bronchiole, bronchial tubes, diaphragm, left lung, right lung, windpipe or trachea, normal bronchiole.
Body Parts
Appendix, fallopian tubes, kidney, rectum, ureter, bladder (vejiga), esophagus, liver, small intestine, urethra, colon, gallbladder (vesícula biliar), lungs, stomach, uterus, heart, pancreas, trachea, ovaries.
Specific Locations: Armpit (axilla), Back, Breast (mamma), Buttock (nates), Calf (gemelo), Chest (thorax), Elbow (cubitus), Groin (inguinal region), Hip (cadera – coxa), Jaw (mandible), Knee (patella – rodilla), Leg, Navel (umbilicus), Neck, Shoulder, Stomach (abdominal), Upper arm, Wrist (carpus).
Miscellaneous Terms
Babies, Children, Elderly, Emergency cases, Exercises, Heart, Kidney, Nervous system, Operations, Skin disorders, Test results, X-rays, Assessment (evaluación), cubicle (consulta), date of birth, priority, reception desk, bleeding, leg, worried, rewarding, A&E, ER, Elevator or lift, breath in/breath out, practice nurse, colleague.
First visit to surgery, hospital round, follow-up visit, following a referral (derivar), diarrhea, high, low, monitor, observation chart, record, sign.
Medication
- Capsules: Cápsulas
- Tablets: Pastillas, comprimidos
- Ways of taking medication: Formas de tomar la medicación
- Restrictions: Restricciones
- Warnings: Advertencias
- Syrup: Jarabe
- Dosage: Dosis/dosificación
- Emergency contraception (pill): Anticoncepción de urgencia (píldora)
- Prescription: Prescripción/receta médica
- Suitable: Adecuado
- Drowsiness: Somnolencia
Facilities
Canteen, Registration desk, Vending machine, Pharmacy, Waiting area, Coffee shop, Cashpoint, Toilets, Gift shop.
Pain Description
- Burning: Ardor
- Dull: Sordo/aburrido
- Shooting: Disparante/disparos
- Stabbing: Punzante
- Tingling: Hormigueo
- Throbbing: Palpitante
- Stinging: Picor
- Not a pain, but itchy: No es un dolor, es un picor
- A sharp pain: Un dolor agudo
- Mild pain: Un dolor leve
Pain Examples
- A burning sensation: It feels very hot.
- A dull ache: It’s a mild pain that is continuous.
- A shooting pain: It’s a sudden pain that moves quickly from one place to another.
- A stabbing pain: It feels like someone is hurting me with a knife or something sharp.
- A tingling feeling: It feels like someone is pushing lots of small needles into your skin.
- A throbbing pain: It feels like someone is beating a drum.
- A stinging sensation: It feels like a bee is stinging me.
- Not a pain, but itchy: It feels like I want to scratch.
- A sharp pain: It’s strong and sudden.
Pain Intensity
Agonizing (agonizante), quite bad (muy fuerte), excruciating (horroroso), moderate (moderado), slight (ligero), no pain (sin dolor), not bad (nada malo), unbearable (insoportable), severe (severo).
Weight
Underweight, normal weight, overweight.