Medical English Clear & Simple A Practice-Based Approach to English for ESL Healthcare Professionals

435 Pages·2010·14.57 MB·English

by  Melodie Hull

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Medical English
Clear and Simple
A Practice-Based Approach
to English for ESL
Healthcare Professionals
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Medical English
Clear and Simple
A Practice-Based Approach
to English for ESL
Healthcare Professionals
Melodie Hull, RPN, MSc, MEd (TESOL), BA, PID
Nursing Faculty
College of the Rockies
Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada
Nursing Tutor, Distance Education, Transitions to Nursing and Health Program
Thompson Rivers University
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
International Adviser to the Department of Languages
International University of Business, Agriculture, and Technology
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nurse-Educator and Consultant
Clayton International Consulting
Cranbrook, BC, Canada
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F.A. Davis Company
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Copyright © 2010 by F.A. Davis Company
Copyright © 2010 by F.A. Davis Company. All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be repro-
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ing, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hull, Melodie.
Medical English clear and simple: a practice based approach to English for ESL healthcare professionals/Melodie Hull.
p.; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8036-2165-7 (alk. paper)
1. Readers—Medicine. 2. English language—Conversation and phrase books (for medical personnel)
3. English language—Textbooks for foreign speakers. 4. Medical personnel, Foreign—United States. I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Terminology as Topic—Problems and Exercises. 2. Communication—Problems and Exercises.
3. Language—Problems and Exercises. W 18.2 H913m 2010]
PE1127. M4H85 2010
428.6'402461—dc22
2009042818
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This book is dedicated to two very important and influential
people in my life:
My very good friend, Patty Sangri, of the Universidad
Tecnologica de Cancun, who gave me my first job in English for
Specific Purposes and who opened
this whole new world to me.
My wonderful husband, Steven, whose unwavering love
and faith in me, as well as his incredible patience and support,
has made this book possible.
THANK YOU
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F O R E W O R D
I met Melodie Hull, the author of this book, in 2006 when we all attended the International Sym-
posium on English for Medical Purposes in Beijing, China. As one of the keynote speakers, she
roused my attention when I read her research abstract. It offered a brief overview of literature on
how the actual goals of the curriculum of English for Medical Purposes are defined. In the sym-
posium, her speech was a great success and provided all the researchers, especially Chinese re-
searchers, in the medical English field opportunity for critical thought regarding current curricu-
lum design. In addition, her wit, her wealth of knowledge and experience, and her enthusiasm
for the medical English field impressed all the attendees. In the following years, we have kept in
touch with each other. I have gradually come to know many of her works, all of which are greatly
applicable and in great demand. On behalf of all Chinese medical English researchers, I genuinely
appreciate what Melodie has done and will do in this field.
Medical English Clear and Simpleis designed to help learners of medical English at an advanced
level. The intended readers are medical and medical English students, medical professionals, and
those involved in the medical field who have a strong desire to improve their medical English.
This book guides readers through eight main sections, enabling them to explore and develop
skills within certain systems or medical fields. Each unit enables readers to engage more actively
with medical matter or content and encourages them to develop their own skills in medical English
reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Throughout the book, topics are extended, interwoven,
and deconstructed, with the readers’ understanding strengthened by tasks and follow-up questions.
For the learners to take full advantage of the material, the book has included what the author be-
lieves is most needed by them. Exercises and learning activities offer language-learning conditions
that enrich their communicative competence and skills within the context of their careers. Written
by an experienced researcher in the field, Medical English Clear and Simpleis an essential resource for
students and researchers of medical English.
I, Xie Yu, sincerely wish that by reading and using this book, you will have a pleasant and
instructive experience in improving your medical English.
Xie Yu, MA
English for Medical Purposes Lecture
Capital Medical University
Beijing, PRC
Congratulations on the publication of this important book.
Melodie Hull is a friend, colleague, and previous employee. While teaching nursing full time
at a local university college, she worked as a staff nurse part time in one of my mental health care
facilities. As I got to know her, I discovered her interest in teaching English for nursing and med-
ical purposes. Her approach to the subject was (and is) quite unique. Her vision of the need for
functional, career-specific English for health professionals is commendable and one which I
share. This book does just that! I, like Melodie, appreciate the need for nurses or doctors to be in-
volved in the creation and design of this type of material and coursework and have always sup-
ported her in her endeavors to fill this need. We agree that English for Medical Purposes materi-
als should be based in the context of the health professions at all times. Melodie is committed to
best practices in health care and realizes that language skills and competencies play an enormous
role in the delivery of safe, ethical, and professional care. Indeed, she believes this so strongly that
beyond nursing, she has added a graduate degree in TESOL to her credentials to ensure her ma-
terial is well-grounded in theory and practice.
Medical English Clear and Simple is a comprehensive introduction to the language of the health
professions. In my opinion, it is well suited to the needs of international medical graduates
who wish to complete a residency in Canada, the USA, or to work in an English-speaking milieu
eventually. It is also well suited for internationally educated nurses and nursing students whose
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first language is not English. The text offers essential terminology for working with colleagues
and patients, but it does more than that: the communication focus is paramount for career suc-
cess in an English-speaking country. This book accomplishes that.
Ronald I. Wong BS, MD
Family Physician, registered in Vancouver BC, Canada, and Kingston, Jamaica
Graduate University of British Columbia Medical School
Internship at King’s County Hospital, Brooklyn, New York
Family Practice Residency, Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio,
and Ravenna General Hospital, Ravenna, Ohio, USA
This is no ordinary text. Melodie Hull’s years of experience in international nursing, education,
and theater arts provide an innovative approach to English-based medical terminology. The au-
thor’s expertise in this area is evident in the selection of content and sequencing of tasks, but it
is the love of learners and the desire to see them succeed that shines in the gentle, down-to-earth
guidance included in the learning activities. By incorporating activities that address the various
senses, the author taps into different learning styles and preferences, rather than relying solely
on pronunciation and memorization. Her appreciation for the learner’s need to feel confident
comes through in the design of activities that engage the adult in using new terms in a variety of
contexts. Upon completion of this text, a learner can go to the workplace knowing he or she will
effectively use medical terminology in verbal and nonverbal communications. This is the text that
I wish I had written myself.
Sharon L. Andersen, RN, BSN, MSN, MEd, EdD
Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Mental Health
Proprietor, Crone’s Nest Educational Consultants
Retired Nursing Instructor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
and University of British Columbia, Canada
Having used a previous book by Melodie Hull, I was honored to have been asked to write this
foreword for the new textbook that she has written. This new work is a comprehensive book de-
signed for non-native English-speaking students in health-care programs. Medical English Clear
and Simplefulfills a need since it is health care oriented, but ESL/EFL accessible. As there are more
and more non-native speakers of English medical professionals in the USA, the need for such a
book has become critical. Medical English Clear and Simple assists students toward success in health-
care programs by providing opportunities for reading, writing, speaking, and listening within
their health-care career. It provides ample opportunities to apply what has been learned and
helps students build their health-care related vocabulary.
Medical English Clear and Simple is a useful resource as a communication teaching tool for in-
structors in the health-care field and as a refresher or a professional development course for
international health-care professionals.
Melodie Hull has achieved her purpose of providing a valuable resource for health-care stu-
dents or professionals who are of non-English speaking backgrounds. Medical English Clear and
Simple is the answer to the needs of health-care or ESL/EFL instructors who are looking for a
comprehensive book that will help their students improve their health-related language skills.
Barbara Jonckheere
Lecturer/Academic Senate Representative
American Language Institute
University College and Extension Services
California State University, Long Beach
In Medical English Clear and Simple, Melodie Hull has presented a practical step-by-step guide for
learning career-specific English with a communication focus. The guide is a valuable resource,
especially for students in health studies programs and health professionals who are of non-English
speaking backgrounds.
viii Foreword