Author: Rory Foster
How to Evaluate Depression in Spanish using SIG E CAPS
This Medical Spanish lesson teaches you how to evaluate depression in Spanish using SIG E CAPS and PHQ-9 with your Spanish speaking patients. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see all of our lessons and get the latest videos right away! Note: I published a lesson about SIG E CAPS early this year. You can
How to use Lo Que and Lo Cual in medical Spanish conversations
Lo Que and Lo Cual are relative pronouns in Spanish… which means that they connect two clauses in a sentence. Lo que and lo cual are not gender specific; they’re neutral, meaning that they often refer to ideas or actions (not specific nouns that have a gender in Spanish). If you’re using que and cual
7 Medical Imaging Techniques in Spanish
In this lesson, you will learn how to describe 7 common medical imaging techniques in Spanish The 7 medical imaging procedures described in this video are: Here is the medical imaging terms in Spanish lesson: Here is a full list of the vocabulary from the lesson: Alzheimer’s disease la enfermedad de Alzheimer arthritis el artritis
Spanishland Immersion trips in Colombia
Spanishland Spanish Immersion Trips in Colombia are an AMAZING individualized way to travel Colombia, get embedded into a local family, take intensive Intermediate and Advanced level Spanish classes and explore! In this video, Rory interviews Andrea and Nate Alger from the Españolistos podcast and Spanishland language school. We discuss the nature of their individualized programs
How to give breastfeeding instructions in Spanish
Few things make a new mom more nervous than the question of whether or not their newborn is getting enough breastmilk. And if baby doesn’t naturally latch easy, breastfeeding can become both painful and frustrating for mom. In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to give basic breastfeeding instructions in Spanish through learning: Check out the
How to say “Quit” in Spanish
The Spanish Art of Quitting: Understanding “Dejar,” “Dejar de,” “Abandonar,” “Basta,” and “Para” In Spanish, the concept of “quitting” or “stopping” can be expressed in various ways, each with its own nuances and usage. You will NEVER use the verb “Quitar” to say quit in Spanish. Here, we explore five common Spanish verbs that mean
What is the best Spanish Immersion travel length?
We work with hundreds of international travelers every year on our Spanish Immersion trips to Latin America. In many cases, working professionals, full-time students and parents of children still living at home have extremely tight schedules and don’t have the luxury of asking the question about the best length of a program for language development
Giving shots and starting IVs in Spanish
Most people don’t like shots and getting stuck with needles, right? So, when you need to give shots and start IVs it’s great to be able to explain what you’re doing a little bit to put your patients at ease. In today’s lesson, I’m helping you build some vocabulary around shots and IVs and also
Quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta
“Quien Mucho Abarca, Poco Aprieta”: Understanding the Spanish Proverb “Quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta” is a Spanish proverb that translates to “He who grasps at much, holds little.” This concise phrase encapsulates a profound observation about human behavior and the limitations of trying to do too much at once. Let’s delve deeper into the meaning
How to Measure Blood Sugar Level in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on learning how to measure your blood sugar level in Spanish: Medir el nivel de azúcar en sangre. Here is the Measuring Blood Sugar Level in Spanish lesson I taught on Youtube: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see all of our lessons and get the latest videos right away!
Explaining Growth Charts in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on explaining growth charts in Spanish with your Spanish speaking patients. Ever struggle to explain the basic of the growth chart to your Spanish speaking patients? Do you ever wish you had better vocabulary to explain percentiles and trends in Spanish? It’s an interesting concept in any language – most
How to talk to Children in Spanish (in the clinical setting)
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on how to talk to children in Spanish. When working with adults, you’re always using the “usted” form of verbs, but in the clinical setting with children, using the “tú” form is perfect. In this Vídeo Viernes lesson I share how the Tú form shows up throughout many different language
Discussing Headaches in Spanish
This Free Medical Spanish lesson focuses on discussing headaches in Spanish: el dolor de cabeza. In this lesson, we’re discussing stress headaches, migraines, cluster headaches, sinus pain, strokes, concussions and vision problems. For each cause of headaches, I’m sharing a basic description in Spanish and some simple tests and procedures. Here is the Headaches in Spanish
How to Explain “Clean Catch” Urine Sample instructions in Spanish
In this post, we focus on how to give instructions to both men and women to collect a clean urine sample (commonly called “clean catch”). Read below and watch the instructional video for some specific Spanish vocabulary and phrases related to clean catch urine samples. Whenever you’re giving quick instructions in Spanish, you’ll use the command tense.
6 Essential Medical Spanish Verb Conjugations for Healthcare Workers in the USA
How to Manage the Most Frequently Used Verb Conjugations in Spanish for Healthcare Workers. Verbs are are the glue that hold a language together and create meaning. A pure vocabulary-based subject/noun/adjective communication style is caveman speak, and you’re way too smart for that! So, in this post we’re breaking down the 6 most common Spanish
How to Explain Safe Sleep Recommendations in Spanish: back to sleep and belly to play.
Do you ever have to educate new parents about safe sleep recommendations? We all know that the “back to sleep & belly to play” campaign has had a great effect on reducing the incidence of SIDS in babies… but how do you explain it in Spanish? In today’s lesson you’re going to learn all the
Questions and Phrases to Assess Child Abuse and Neglect in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on learning how assess child abuse and neglect in Spanish. This is a delicate topic requested by a community member who wanted to know the best vocabulary to talk about child abuse and neglect in Spanish with Spanish speaking parents (and children) in a respectful way that doesn’t intimidate or
How to Take Vital Signs in Spanish
Do you ever have to take vital signs or communicate to your patients about them in Spanish? In the hospital setting you may have your patients hooked up to the monitors and you don’t have to explain too much except a result here and there. But if you work in the outpatient clinical setting, taking
Fall Prevention in Spanish – Useful Vocabulary To Learn
This medical Spanish lesson focuses on talking about fall prevention in Spanish, both at home and at the hospital. We share some vocabulary and phrases to talk about the most common rules the patient needs to follow to avoid accidents when he or she tries to stand up or walk around. Here is the Fall Prevention
Active Listening, Empathizing & Summarizing Patient Complaints in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on Active Listening, Empathizing & Summarizing Patient Complaints in Spanish. You’re going to learn useful phrases and vocabulary for showing understanding and managing difficult news with your Spanish-only patients. When you’re listening to your patient stories in English, you have all sorts of small verbal cues that you give
The Personal “A” in Spanish
If you’re anything like me (as a Spanish learner), it’s the pesky little words that can leave you feeling a little confused and frustrated at times. The personal “A” in Spanish is one of those words that doesn’t have an equivalent in English, and therefore it’s challenging to remember to add as you’re speaking Spanish.
Discussing Enlarged Prostate in Spanish
If you work with men past the age of 50 years old, you have probably had the occasion to discuss enlarged prostate, or BPH – Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Wondering how would you discuss Enlarged Prostate in Spanish? In today’s lesson, I help you… Get started here with the Enlarged Prostate in Spanish Video Viernes Lesson…
9 Spanish Question Words and Chit Chat Topics
Use these 9 Spanish Question words and chit chat topics to build rapport with your Spanish-speaking patients. Whenever we survey our medical Spanish community, one of the top 3 reasons healthcare workers are improving their Spanish is to establish a better connection with their patients. Rapport building, casual conversations, and better connecting can all begin
Non-binary pronoun use in Costa Rica and Ecuador
Is it common practice to use the pronoun “elle” and change adjectives to end in an “e”? Hi Rory, my name is Phoenix. I’m non-binary and I’m registered for your upcoming immersion trip… I use the pronouns they/them on a daily basis; what should I expect from the local community in regards to pronoun use?
Summer ’23 Spanish Immersion trip for adults – week by week.
This Spanish immersion program took place in Ecuador and Costa Rica for families, healthcare workers and teachers. A well planned and executed immersion trip is the absolute best way to improve your Spanish in a short period of time. You won’t go from zero to fluent in a few weeks… that takes time. But you
3 Ps of Hospital Nursing in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on understanding the 3 Ps of Hospital Nursing in Spanish: Pain, Potty, and Position. These 3 Ps are the most common things a nurse has to talk about all the time with their patients. Here is the 3 Ps of Hospital Nursing in Spanish lesson I taught to the Facebook
9 Less Common Causes of Abdominal Pain in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on learning how to talk about the 9 less common causes of abdominal pain in Spanish: Las 9 causas menos comunes del dolor abdominal. After a quick review of anatomy and symptoms in Spanish, you’ll learn how to discuss less common causes of abdominal pain in Spanish such as: Here
16 Common Causes of Abdominal Pain explained in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on learning how to talk about abdominal pain in Spanish: dolor abdominal o dolor de estómago. Some time ago, we talked about how to talk about pain in Spanish, so in this lesson we are going to be more specific and talk about abdominal pain and the different words you
Explaining A1C in Spanish: Ranges, Results and Recommendations
How to explain A1C tests and results to your patients in Spanish? According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, The A1C test is a blood test that provides information about “a person’s average levels of blood glucose, also called blood sugar, over the past three months”. So, if you want to
Care instructions in Spanish after minor procedures
Easy phrases to communicate at home care instructions after minor procedures. In this post you’ll learn how to… Here is the video lesson on care instructions in Spanish after minor procedures: Common Minor Procedures in Spanish: Instructions to follow in Spanish: For these instructions to follow after a minor procedure, let’s just use the starter
Medical Work Abroad – MissionCMEcuador
Have you been looking for an ethical and sustainable opportunity to do some clinical work abroad? If so, MissionCMEcuador is accepting providers and Spanish/English interpreters to join its next trip. I’ve known Dr Lynn Walker for many years… in fact she delivered our first child 19 years ago! She has also been a long-time Common Ground client working
Chronic Pelvic Pain – Causes, Characteristics & treatments in Spanish
Chronic pelvic pain can be a complicated topic to discuss, let alone Spanish! In this lesson you’ll learn how to describe chronic pelvic pain symptoms, causes and treatment options in Spanish. We’ll cover topics like Endometriosis, Pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids, complications of hysterectomies, etc. Here is the lesson I taught on Chronic Pelvic Pain in
10 Consejos para Entrevistas Exitosas de programadores en inglés
Si quieres solicitar un trabajo en programación donde requieren inglés, pero no tienes mucha experiencia con las entrevistas en este idioma, probablemente tienes muchas dudas y nervios mientras te preparas para la entrevista. ¡Pero no te preocupes! En este post te compartimos 10 preguntas comunes que seguramente te harán durante las entrevistas. Obviamente tienes que
Diabetes and Hypertension Conversation in Spanish – Listening Comprehension
Work on your listening comprehension in Spanish and learn about diabetes and hypertension in Costa Rica! Doctor Carla and Nurse Rebeca asked our Medical Spanish Immersion group this past winter to give some workshops on Diabetes and Hypertension. They requested that we educate some of their at-risk population about: After two weeks of workshops concluded,
Mental health Conversation in Spanish – Listening Comprehension
Work on your listening comprehension in Spanish and learn about the mental health situation in Costa Rica! Comprehension Questions from the conversation: Learn the lesson vocabulary with this quizlet vocab set: Other posts in this Mental Health series:
Winter ’23 Adult Spanish Immersion Trip in Costa Rica
Starting January 28th, 44 adults (and one child) embarked on a journey to improve their spoken Spanish via Spanish Immersion. We all know that Spanish Immersion is absolutely the best way to learn Spanish… but what is Spanish immersion specifically? A lot of trips and tour providers define and market themselves as “immersive” – but
How to explain periods, menstrual cramps and bleeding in Spanish
Do you ever have to discuss periods, menstrual cramps and menstrual bleeding in Spanish? If so, this medical Spanish video is perfect for you. In this lesson, you’ll learn … Initial Menstruation Questions: Related Anatomy Vocabulary: Menstrual symptom vocabulary: Menstrual cups, pads and tampons: Learn this menstrual cramping and period vocabulary with the quizlet activity
Regular Present Tense Verbs in Spanish For Healthcare Context
This free Medical Spanish lesson focuses on learning and understanding the use of the Regular Present Tense Verbs in Spanish for healthcare context. Here is the video lesson about the Regular Present Tense Verbs in Spanish that I taught to the Facebook group. Empezamos con una lección sencilla pero fundamental: Los verbos regulares en tiempo presente
How to discuss Pap tests, colposcopies and abnormal results in Spanish
Do you ever have to discuss Pap tests or colposcopies in Spanish? How about abnormal Pap test results? Here is a brief lesson to guide you: Here is some essential pap test vocabulary from the lesson: Pap Test Anatomy: Realated problems/conditions: Pap test tools and supplies: Other pap test vocabulary Useful verbs for the pap
Tú Commands in Spanish for Healthcare and Clinical Interactions with Young Patients
Medical Spanish Tú commands are a little bit tricky. When you work with kids in the clinical setting, you use commands all the time. Simple things like: “open your mouth”, “say ah”, “follow my finger”, etc are all commands. The tricky part of Tú commands in Spanish is that the affirmative (+) command is formed
Usted and Medical Spanish Formal Commands
Healthcare workers learning Spanish need to get comfortable with Spanish formal commands. Whether you’re giving hand washing instructions, talking about how to take medications, or simply directing someone to follow you, you’re going to use Spanish formal commands. Usted is the subject that you use day in and day out with your adult patients. So,
How to use Conditional Tense in Medical Spanish Situations
The conditional tense verb conjugation in Spanish gives you the ability to add the subtle message that you “would” or “could” do something. It’s an important tense for sharing a hypothetical and it can also be a nice way to soften certain everyday requests and instructions that you give your patients. Check out today’s medical
How to use Present Perfect verbs in medical Spanish contexts
The present perfect verb tense is quite possibly one of the most helpful tenses when speaking Spanish to patients in a clinical / medical context. It allows you to ask useful questions like: Have you…? , Have you ever…? , What have you …? , etc. It’s a compound verb tense just like it is
Imperfect Past Tense Medical Spanish Verbs
The Imperfect past tense in Spanish is one of the easiest tenses to conjugate; there are very few irregulars and no stem changers. But that doesn’t make this tense “easy” to use. Choosing when to use the imperfect past tense or the preterite past tense is often tricky. In today’s lesson you’ll learn how to
Irregular Preterite Tense Medical Spanish Verbs
One of the hardest aspects of the Preterite past tense in Spanish is conjugating the irregular verbs. They’re irregular by nature, which means they don’t necessarily follow any helpful patterns of conjugation. In last week’s lesson, we looked at Regular Preterite tense conjugations and the uses of the Preterite tense in Spanish following the SPICY
Preterite Past Tense Medical Spanish Verbs
You don’t get too far in a conversation before you start using the past tense in clinical conversations. Patients are telling their stories about how they ended up in front of you today, and you’re asking a variety of questions around what happened, what they did, etc. So today’s lesson is on the first past
How to Teach Coping Strategies in Spanish
Coping strategies in Spanish are “Estrategias de afrontamiento”. This week, as I was preparing to have a coping strategies talk with one of my daughters who was having a rough time at school, I searched for any previous video viernes lessons I had done on the topic; but I came up empty! So, today’s lesson
Neurological Exam in Spanish
Learn the vocabulary and common phrasing for the Neurological exam in Spanish! This lesson covers common questions, information and commands for the neurological exam in Spanish. We cover 7 aspects of the Neurological exam in Spanish: Here is the Neuro Exam Lesson I taught for Video Viernes: A couple of quick phrases help you stick
Confusing Touch and Take in Medical Spanish
It’s easy to confuse the verbs Touch (tocar) and Take (tomar) in your medical Spanish clinical conversations… but it’s also a quick fix. The problem is that tocar with that hard /k/ in it sounds so much like “take”, but you have to use Tomar for take and Tocar for touch. Here is the Video
Explaining the complications of Diabetes in the Eyes, Feet & Kidneys in Spanish
This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on explaining some common complications of diabetes in Spanish. Do you ever find yourself trying to explain what might happen if your diabetic patients don’t control their blood sugar levels? If you do, in today’s lesson you’re going to learn how to explain the complications of diabetes in Spanish. You’ll
