Doctors, we’ve got an emergency! There’s a patient speaking Spanish, and we don’t understand what he needs! Could he be feeling dizzy? For how long has he been feeling this way? Where’s his family? We don’t know!
Do not panic, Fluency Corp is here!
Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this? Maybe you have. If not, we hope you never live a situation like that. But it’s possible it’ll happen considering Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world.
And there are many Hispanic immigrants or tourists, who just like you and I, are exposed to needing healthcare at some point.
As you can see, knowing even the basics of the Spanish language will help you a lot if you’re a doctor. You’ll be able to help your Spanish-speaking patients more. You’ll truly understand what they say, and they’ll also feel more comfortable talking to you.
Here’s your guide to some essential Spanish vocabulary for doctors. Don’t lose the opportunity of becoming a better healthcare professional.
92 Spanish Words for Doctors
There are some common words about medicine everyone uses, even people that aren’t doctors or nurses. Words like “hospital” and “health”. But there are some other words that are more complicated and specifically of doctors.
Here are the Spanish translations of both of those types of words, which are all useful for healthcare professionals. Inside the parenthesis you’ll see the pronunciation of each word, which we added by basing ourselves in the Span¡shD!ctionary.
You’ll recognize many of these, as we’re sure you’ve used most of these words more than once throughout your career:
- Doctor – Doctor (male) (dohk tohr) / Doctora (female) (dohk tohr ah)
- Doctors – Doctores (dohk tohr ehs)
- Nurse – Enfermero (male) (ehn fehr meh roh) / Enfermera (female) (ehn fehr meh rah)
- Patient – Paciente (pah syehn teh)
- Medicine – Medicina (meh dee see nah)
- Hospital – Hospital (ohs pee tahl)
- Clinic – Clínica (klee nee kah)
- Ambulance – Ambulancia (ahm boo lahn syah)
- Health – Salud (sah lood)
- Healthy – Saludable (sah loo dah bleh)
- Anatomy – Anatomía (ah nah toh mee ah)
- Stretcher – Camilla (kah mee yah)
- Scrubs – Uniforme (oo nee fohr meh)
- First Aid – Primeros auxilios (pree meh rohs owk see lyohs)
- Check-up – Chequeo (cheh keh oh)
- Residency – Residencia (rreh see dehn syah)
- Resident – Residente (rreh see dehn teh)
- Body – Cuerpo (kwehr poh)
- Symptoms – Síntomas (see toh mahs)
- Bones – Huesos (weh sohs)
- Muscles – Musculos (moos koo loh)
- Tendons – Tendones (tehn dohn ehs)
- Blood – Sangre (sahng greh)
- Blood tests – Examen de sangre (ehk sah mehn deh sahng greh)
- Laboratory / Lab – Laboratorio (lah boh rah toh ryoh)
- Prognosis – Prognosis (prohg noh sees)
- Diagnosis – Diagnóstico (dyahg nohs tee koh)
- Prescription – Receta médica (rreh seh tah meh dee kah) / Receta (rreh seh tah) / Prescripción médica (prehs kreep syohn meh dee kah)
- Sickness / Disease / Illness – Enfermedad (ehm fehr meh dahd)
- Wound – Herida (eh ree dah)
- Fever – Fiebre (fyeh breh)
- Dizziness – Mareo (mah reh oh)
- Treatment – Tratamiento (trah tah myehn toh)
- Broken – Roto (rroh toh)
- Virus – Virus (bee roos)
- Bacteria – Bacteria (bahk teh ryah)
- Benign – Benigno (beh neeg noh)
- Malignant – Maligno (mah leeg noh)
- Anesthesia – Anestesia (ah nehs teh syah)
- Antibody – Anticuerpo (ahn tee kwehr poh)
- Pills – Pildoras (peel doh rahs) / Pastillas (pahs tee yah)
- Aspirin – Aspirina (ahs pee ree nah)
- Painkillers – Analgésicos (ah nahl heh see kohs)
- Syrup – Jarabe (hah rah beh)
- Stitches – Suturas (soo too rahs)
- X-ray – Radiografía (rrah dyoh grah fee ah) / Rayos X (rrah yohs eh kees)
- Inflamed / Swollen – Inflamado (eem flah mah doh)
- Face mask – Mascarilla (mahs kah ree yah) / Cubrebocas (koo breh boh kahs)
- Stethoscope – Estetoscopio (ehs teh tohs koh pyoh)
- Allergy – Alergia (ah lehr hyah)
- Flu – Gripa (gree pah)
- Anemia – Anemia (ah neh myah)
- Appendicitis – Apendicitis (ah pehn dee see tees)
- Fracture – Fractura (frahk too rah)
- Heart attack – Infarto de miocardio (eem fahr toh deh mee oh kahr dyoh) / Ataque al corazón (ah tah keh ahl koh rah sohn)
- Tumor – Tumor (too mohr)
- Bradycardia – Bradicardia (brah dee kahr dyah)
- Arthritis – Artritis (ahr tree tees)
- Pregnancy – Embarazo (ehm bah rah soh)
- Infection – Infección (een fehk syohn)
- Kidney stones – Piedras en el riñón (pyeh dras ehn ehl rree nyohn)
- Cancer – Cáncer (kahn sehr)
- Carcinoma – Carcinoma (kahr see noh mah)
- Seizure – Convulsión (kohn bool syohn)
- Microcephaly – Microcefalia (mee kroh seh fah lyah)
- Cast – Yeso (yeh soh)
- Biopsy – Biopsia (byohp syah)
- Specialist – Especialista (ehs peh syah lees tah)
- Surgery – Cirugía (see roo hee ah)
- Surgeon – Cirujano (see roo hah noh)
- Operating room (OR) – Quirófano (kee roh fah noh)
- Emergency Room (ER) – Sala de Emergencia (sah lah deh eh mehr hehn syah) / Urgencias (oor hehn syahs)
- Critical condition – Condición crítica (kohn dee syohn kree tee kah)
- Stable – Estable (ehs tah bleh)
- Organs – Órganos (ohr gah noh)
- Artery – Arteria (ahr teh ryah)
- Veins – Venas (beh nahs)
- Hemorrhage – Hemorragia (eh moh rrah hyah)
- Metastasis – Metástasis (meh tahs tah sees)
- Intensive care unit (ICU) – Unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) (oo nee dahd deh kwee dah dohs een tehn see bohs)
- Donor – Donante (doh nahn teh)
- Intravenous (IV) – Intravenoso (een trah beh noh soh)
- Chemotherapy – Quimioterapia (kee myoh teh rah pyah)
- Immunotherapy – Inmunoterapia (een moo noh teh rah pyah)
- Deficiency – Deficiencia (deh fee syehn syah)
- Discharged – Dado de alta (male) (dah doh deh ahl tah) / Dada de alta (female) (dah dah deh ahl tah)
- Immune system – Sistema inmunitario (sees teh mah een moo nee tah ryoh)
- Side effect – Efecto secundario (eh fehk toh seh koon dah ryoh)
- Glucose – Glucosa (gloo koh sah)
- Pandemic – Pandemia (pahn deh myah)
- Vaccine – Vacuna (bah koo nah)
- Recovery – Recuperación (rreh-koo-peh-rah-syohn)
28 Medical Specialties in Spanish
If you’re a doctor or planning to become one there are many specialties you can choose from. What are you more interested in? Is it the heart? Is it the brain? Whatever it is, we’re sure you’ll be a great doctor.
Even more so if you know the name of your medical specialty in Spanish. You even need to know the names of the other specialties in case you have to refer a patient to a doctor of another specialty. So, here are the names of some of those awesome medical specialties in Spanish:
- General medicine – Medicina general
- Internal medicine – Medicina interna
- Family medicine – Medicina familiar
- Cardiology – Cardiología
- Neurology – Neurología
- Pneumology – Neumología
- Pediatrics – Pediatría
- Gynecology – Ginecología
- Traumatology – Traumatología
- Orthopedics – Ortopedia
- Ophthalmology – Oftalmología
- Dermatology – Dermatología
- Urology – Urología
- Nephrology – Nefrología
- Geriatrics – Geriatría
- Allergology – Alergología
- Endocrinology – Endocrinología
- Plastic surgery – Cirugía plástica
- Anesthesiology – Anestesiología
- Gastroenterology – Gastroenterología
- Obstetrics – Obstetricia
- Oncology – Oncología
- Physical therapy / Physiotherapy – Fisioterapia
- Psychology – Psicología
- Psychiatry – Psiquiatría
- Radiology – Radiología
- Epidemiology – Epidemiología
- Infectiology – Infectología
15 Verbs in Spanish Related to Medicine
Of course, when we speak we use tons of different verbs. But when you’re a doctor there are some very specific verbs you’ll constantly use to talk with patients or fellow doctors. Here are some of them in Spanish:
- To break – Romper
- To examine – Examinar
- To infect – Infectar
- To spread / to pass along – Contagiar
- To transmit – Transmitir
- To cough – Toser
- To sneeze – Estornudar
- To bleed – Sangrar
- To operate – Operar
- To donate – Donar
- To sprain – Torcerse
- To rule out – Descartar
- To refer – Remitir
- To discharge – Dar de alta
- To heal / to cure – Curar
32 Parts of the Body in Spanish
Some of the things that we’re taught first when we learn Spanish are parts of the body. This comes very handy for doctors. But in medicine, you’ll need more than the parts you can see, like the eyes and the arms.
You’ll also need to know the names of organs and basically, the whole body, even the smallest parts of it. To help our doctors out there, here are the names of some important parts of our body in Spanish. This are also commonly used in medicine:
- Eyes – Ojos
- Arm – Brazo
- Hand – Mano
- Fingers – Dedos
- Shoulder – Hombro
- Elbow – Codo
- Leg – Pierna
- Knee – Rodilla
- Feet / Foot – Pies / Pie
- Ankle – Tobillo
- Head – Cabeza
- Neck – Cuello
- Brain – Cerebro
- Throat – Garganta
- Stomach – Estómago
- Abdomen – Abdomen
- Back – Espalda
- Ribs – Costillas
- Thorax – Tórax
- Hip – Cadera
- Appendix – Apéndice
- Heart – Corazón
- Kidney – Riñón
- Liver – Hígado
- Pancreas – Páncreas
- Lungs – Pulmones
- Colon – Colon
- Bladder – Vejiga
- Intestine – Intestino
- Penis – Pene
- Vulva – Vulva
- Vagina – Vagina
18 Spanish Phrases Doctors Say
There are some common phrases most doctors say whether it’s during an appointment with a patient or talking to other professionals. Here are some of those phrases in Spanish, as they’re so common that doctors from other countries also use them.
Just pay attention: If you’ve ever been a patient, you’ve probably heard your doctor say one of these:
- How are you feeling? / ¿Cómo se siente?
- Where does it hurt? / ¿En dónde duele?
- How would you describe the pain? / ¿Cómo describirías el dolor?
- How did you hurt yourself? / ¿Cómo te lastimaste?
- Does it hurt when I press here? / ¿Duele cuando aprieto aquí?
- Do you consume alcohol or drugs? / ¿Consume alcohol o drogas?
- Do you have any allergies? / ¿Tiene alguna alergia?
- Have you experienced dizziness? / ¿Has experimentado mareos?
- You need plenty of rest for that ankle. / Necesitará mucho descanso para ese tobillo.
- You’ll need some stitches. / Necesitarás algunas suturas.
- What’s your prognosis for this case, doctor? / ¿Cuál es la prognosis para este caso, doctor?
- My prognosis is that the pacient will make a full recovery. / Mi prognosis es que el paciente logrará una recuperación completa.
- We’re going to have to run some tests to rule out anemia. / Tendremos que hacer unos estudios para descartar anemia.
- You’ll need to come for a routine check-up every six months. / Necesitará venir a un chequeo de rutine cada seis meses.
- Here’s your prescription: You’ll take an aspirin every 8 hours. / Aquí está su receta médica: tomará una aspirina cada 8 horas.
- I will refer you to a specialist. / Te remitiré a un especialista.
- Surgery was a success. / La cirugía fue un éxito.
- We’d like to keep you under observation for a couple of days. / Nos gustaría mantenerlo en observación un par de días.
How to Put into Practice Your New Vocabulary for Doctors
You might want to put into practice your new Spanish vocabulary for doctors before using it with real patients. This way you can be sure you’re applying it the right way. Of course, the best method to learn is through real life experience, but there are ways to practice before, so you can feel more confident. Here are some ideas:
Read!
As a doctor you probably already have to read a lot. Many papers of different medical things, from anatomy books to history of medicine to new investigations on a disease. Whatever it is, reading is essential both for medicine and for vocabulary practice. Thanks to reading you’ll know how to use the words and phrases correctly, at the right moment.
Now, though you can learn a lot of Spanish vocabulary through reading any book, it’s not that common to learn medical words. You might learn common words related to doctors in a novel, like “disease”, “health”, “hospital”, and “doctor”.
But it’ll be more difficult to find more specific medical jargon. For this, we’d recommend you read medical papers in Spanish. For example: You can search for a new Spanish investigation on a disease you treat in your specialty. This way, you’ll be learning about medicine, while acquiring vocabulary in Spanish for your job.
You can also look up your favorite anatomy book in its Spanish version. So you read something you already know, but you’ll be reading it in a new language. This will make the process of learning easier. It’s an especially good method for beginners.
Act out the vocabulary
You can ask fellow bilingual doctors to act a medical scene with you using the vocabulary above. For example: He/she can be the patient, and you can be the doctor. He/she can use the symptoms of any injury or disease and describe it to you in Spanish. You can answer or ask questions using the words we just taught you.
Be sure you act out the whole scene, from the moment the patient arrives to the moment you dismiss him/her. So you can practice the whole scenario that could happen to you with a real Hispanic patient.
Then, practice the other way around. You can be the patient, and your friend or colleague can be the doctor. This way, both of you practice Spanish words and phrases for doctors.
Discuss medicine
If you’re too shy to act out a medical scene, you can always discuss medicine in Spanish with colleagues. As a doctor, you probably already discuss medicine with other doctors and researchers.
Maybe you talk about a new disease or a new cure; maybe about a patient’s case to ask for another professional’s opinion, or maybe about why you chose your specialty. Whatever it is, discussions about medicine are important and you use a lot of jargon while doing that.
That means that if you encourage these discussions in Spanish, you’ll learn and use a lot of medical jargon in Spanish.
You can simply ask a Hispanic colleague, or a fellow doctor that’s also learning the language, to speak with you. They’ll probably love to do it, as they’ll also benefit from that. Bilingualism is great for everyone!
Enroll yourself in Spanish lessons
This is a very important one. Though you can learn a lot from our blogs and free resources on the internet, such as YouTube videos, that won’t teach you everything. It will especially not force you to speak using your new vocabulary.
Classes are always important. A teacher will give you more vocabulary and perception of the language; he/she will teach you all areas of it. And he or she will also guide you through the whole process.
So, if you make a mistake your teacher can correct you. More importantly, your teacher can also make sure you speak in Spanish using your new vocabulary every lesson, so you become fluent.
Become a Bilingual Doctor with Fluency Corp!
Are you looking for a school where you can practice your Spanish and become even more fluent in it? Awesome! That’s the best you can do for yourself and your career. By doing that, you’ll become the best bilingual doctor you can be. But we know it’s hard to find a school that focuses on your fluency.
Don’t worry though. You’ll find that with us! Fluency Corp is a corporate language school. What does this mean? That we teach languages based on your job and needs. So, if you tell us that you need Spanish for medicine, we got you covered. We’ll teach you all areas of the language, from reading to listening.
But we’ll focus even more on speaking by encouraging you to speak in every class. That way you’ll achieve Spanish fluency. Soon, you’ll be communicating with your Hispanic patients with ease.
You can also tell us your more specific needs. Do you want to learn more vocabulary for doctors? Or do you need to know how to write a prescription in Spanish? That’s fine, we’re here to help.
All you have to do is choose between our online or onsite classes. Then, pick a language (we have many more besides Spanish). And contact us for a free consultation to answer all your questions.
