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Medical Spanish

Medical Language

by Tara Peris

Doctors speak a language all their own. Never mind the high fangled terminology for body parts you didn't even know you had, the health care industry is filled with all sorts of jargon. Although perplexing to lay people, this lingo helps health care providers to provide medical services in a more efficient, effective manner.

Say What?

If you've ever spent an extended period of time in a hospital, you know that it is a world unto itself. The different hospital shifts, the rotating house staff, and the smells and sounds of medicine in action are likely to surround you everywhere you turn. However, among the myriad features that make the hospital setting distinct, the lingo you hear is probably the most salient.

Where else will you hear about g-tubes and trach-tubes, lines, and shunts? Who else will make casual references to HIPAA compliance (that's insurance lingo for the patient privacy act, by the way)? What are they talking about anyway? Will it affect your treatment? It can be overwhelming to say the least.

However, doctors face a similar challenge when they work in settings where patients do not speak English. Whether it is the emergency room at L.A. County Hospital or an ER in Guatemala, communicating medical terms can be a real challenge. With this in mind, a growing number of doctors are supplementing their training with specialized medical course work in foreign languages. Such training helps them to speak and understand in much more effective terms.

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