In this free Medical Spanish lesson you will learn 7 easy phrases for communicating treatment plans in Spanish and being able to talk about them with your Latino patients.
These 7 easy phrases include:
- Talking about future plans
- Explaining steps or instructions the patient must take
- Explaining things the patient has to do
- Expressing “to need to” in Spanish
- Expressing “to should” in Spanish
- How to say “be able to” and “can” in Spanish
- Giving polite instructions using “please”
A lot of these phrase you can actually find in another lesson called: Pharmacy and Dosing Instructions in Spanish.
Here is the Medical Spanish lesson about 7 Easy Phrases for Communicating Treatment Plans in Spanish I taught to the Facebook group:
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Frase #1: Ir + a + infinitivo = Futuro
This is the most common way to use the future tense in Spanish. Most people don’t use the technical future tense conjugation. Instead, they prefer to use the Spanish form of “go to” or “going to”. Therefore, we need to know how to conjugate the irregular verb “to go” in Spanish.
Ir = To go
| Yo: voy | Nosotros: vamos |
| Tú: vas | |
| Él/Ella/Usted: va | Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes: van |
Examples of how we use this future tense in Spanish:
- Yo voy a informar a su proveedor de atención primaria / I’m going to inform your primary care provider.
- Mi asistente va a llamar a la farmacia cerca de su casa
/ My assistant is going to call the pharmacy close to your house. - Nosotros vamos a consultar con su seguro sobre las opciones / We are going to talk to your insurance about your options.
- Usted va a hablar con su familia sobre sus deseos / You are going to discuss with your family about your wishes
Frase #2: Hay que + infinitivo = one has to / one must
The style of using “hay que” in Spanish is culturally acceptable: it’s indirect but it’s also an instruction, so you avoid saying that the person has to do something while still emphasizing the importance of the instruction you are giving to them.
| Spanish | English |
| Hay que tomar una pastilla por día. | You have to take one pill a day. |
| Para bajar la presión, hay que usar menos sal, bajar de peso y tomar menos licor | To lower your blood pressure, you have to use less salt, lose weight and drink less alcohol |
| No hay que pagar nada, es un servicio gratuito. | You do not have to pay anything, it’s a free service. |
Frase #3 Tener que + infinitivo = “to have to”
In this case, “Tener que” is a direct instruction in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
| Es un antibiótico, así que tiene que terminar todas las pastillas | It’s an antibiotic, so you have to finish all of the pills |
| Usted tiene que chequearse el azúcar todos los días, pero no tiene que apuntar sus números de glucosa, el glucómetro los guarda en memoria. | You have to check your blood sugar every day, but you do not have to write down your glucose numbers, the glucose meter stores them in its memory. |
| Nosotros tenemos que hacerle la prueba de embarazo antes | We have to do the pregnancy test to you before |
Frase #4: Necesitar + infinitivo = “to need to”
If you want to back off the obligation level of doing something, then you can use “to need to” in Spanish 😉
| Spanish | English |
| Su hija necesita continuar con la terapia física para rehabilitarse más rápido. | Your daughter needs to continue with PT in order to rehab more quickly |
| Necesitamos monitorearle a su bebé por 24 horas antes de darle el alta. | We need to monitor your baby for 24 hours before discharging |
| Usted necesita hacer otra cita si la fiebre no le baja en 5 días | You need to make another appointment if the fever does not go down in 5 days |
| Tú no necesitas regresar si puedes correr y jugar sin dolor | You do not need to return if you can run and play without pain |
Frase #5: Deber + infinitivo = “to should”
“Deber” or “deber de” it’s an instruction in the middle between a recommendation and an obligation, and the difference lies in the emphasis you add to the sentence.
| Spanish | English |
| Usted debe dejar de fumar porque es muy nocivo | You should stop smoking because it is very harmful |
| Debe llamarme si experimenta mareos o siente una falta de equilibrio | You should call me if you experience dizziness or feel a lack of balance |
| No debe estar en el sol sin usar bloqueador mientras toma este medicamento. | You should not be out in the sun without sunblock while taking this medication. |
| Debe parar de tomar la Metformina si siente muy cansado, nausea, debilidad, dolor de estómago… | You should stop taking Metformin if you feel very tired, nausea, weakness, stomach pain … |
Note: “Dejar de…” is used when talking about stopping any vice whereas “parar de” is stopping any other activity.
Frase #6: Poder + infinitivo = “can” / “be able to”
To explain things people can do or are able to do, use the verb “poder” + infinitivo
| Spanish | English |
| Tú puedes nadar con la escayola y la puedes mojar sin problema. | You can swim with the cast and you can get it wet without problem. |
| Si necesita, puede alternar el Ibuprofeno y el Acetaminofén para controlar el dolor | If you need to, you can alternate the Ibuprofen and the Acetaminophen to control pain |
| Nosotros no podemos esperar, tenemos que operarle ya | We can not wait, we have to operate on him now |
| Usted puede volver a sus actividades normales | You can go back to your normal activities |
Note: Even though “ahora” means “now” in Spanish, the fact is “ahora” could mean this week, at some point today or even anytime this month, however, the word “ya” doesn’t have that much range so using “ya” it’s recommended if you want to transmit the urgency of doing something right now.
Frase #7: Favor de + infinitivo = “please”
This the most polite way of giving instructions because you are using “please” at the beginning of the sentence so it sounds like you are asking a favor
| Spanish | English |
| Favor de tomar asiento, nosotros la llamamos en un momento | Please take a seat, we will call you in a moment |
| Si necesita cancelar su cita, favor de hacerlo por lo menos 24 horas antes. | If you need to cancel your appointment, please do it at least 24 hours before. |
| Favor de repetir las instrucciones que le di | Please repeat the instructions that I gave you |
| Favor de llamar este número de 24 horas si nota alguna decoloración de la piel. | Please call this 24-hour number if you notice any discoloration of the skin. |
Práctica – Vocabulario útil
These vocabulary will be useful for you in a lot of different scenarios so it’s recommended to memorize these words
- Call: Llamar a….
- Check: Chequearse
- Consult with: Consultar con
- Continue with: Continuar con
- Discuss / Speak: Hablar (“Discutir” means to argue)
- Do a test: Hacer(se, le) la prueba
- Go to: Ir a
- If you experience: Si experimenta
- If you feel: Si siente
- If you have: Si tiene
- If you notice: Si nota
- If you think: Si piensa
- Monitor: Monitorear
- Return: Regresar / Volver
- Stop (action): Parar
- Stop (vice): Dejar de
- Take Note / Write down: Apuntar
- Take: Tomar
- Use: Usar
¡Gracias POR aprender español conmigo!
Now it’s your turn! I packaged all of this vocabulary in Spanish into some flashcards for you to study.
I packaged all of this into easily downloadable .pdf notes–Get your copy for free today!
Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients!
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