Believe it or not, languages are also important in the world of medicine. If you’re bilingual, it’ll give you an extra advantage as a healthcare provider. So, if you’re looking for a language to learn for medicine, we believe Spanish is the one. Think about it: It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world. And there are many Hispanic immigrants around the globe.
If you’re a nurse, this is especially perfect for you. Because you have to deal with different kinds of people throughout your shift, from doctors to patients to family. Some of them might be Spanish-speaking people. So if you know even the basics of the language, it’ll be a huge help for everyone.
To help you out, here’s some essential Spanish vocabulary for nurses.
Reasons Spanish is Important for Nurses
High number of Hispanic people abroad
One of the groups of people that immigrate the most is the Hispanic one. Just in 2022 there were 63.7 million Hispanics in the United States. That number keeps increasing through the years. And now Hispanic is considered the biggest group of immigrants in this country. Of course, the U.S. is not the only country with Spanish speaking immigrants.
Let’s not forget about tourism. You might find someone that doesn’t live in your country, but it’s visiting and it’s in need of a nurse or a doctor.
This means that wherever you work, you may encounter a Spanish speaking patient. So, it’s better if you’re prepared for it.
Improves communication
The healthcare industry is huge and one that all of us need. After all, we’re all exposed to getting injured or sick. This means that nurses will eventually have to take care of a foreigner, maybe a Hispanic person. Especially considering that Spanish is one of the languages with more speakers. Who knows? Maybe you’ve already faced this situation more than once.
Knowing your patient’s first language will make it easier for communication. They’ll be able to speak their mother tongue, so you can fully understand their symptoms. You can see how this will also benefit medicine. Language nuances can be tricky, so if you know Spanish, there are less chances of confusion. Which means a better treatment.
Your patients will feel more comfortable
More times than not, speaking in our mother tongue comes easier and makes us feel more comfortable than speaking in our second language. This can be key for vulnerable situations, like when we speak about our feelings or about symptoms we may be experiencing.
So, your patients may feel more comfortable speaking about what’s going on if they do it in their native language. They’ll probably have more fluency and have more vocabulary to explain everything in detail.
You’ll be a super nurse if you allow them to speak in their beloved Spanish language.
Makes you look good
Hey, the benefits of learning Spanish as a nurse aren’t just for your patients. You’ll become a better nurse and that will be loved by the patients.
Because they will feel comfortable talking to you, as they can do it in their native language. They’ll also feel like you care a lot about them, their well-being, and comfort since you took the effort of learning a second language.
Want more? Having bilingual skills, especially for such a necessary language in today’s globalized world, will enhance your resume. All industries are in need of bilingual or even polyglot employees nowadays. So, you’ll be a great contender.
Spanish Words for Nurses
Like all work industries, medicine also has its own jargon. And since there are many areas of the medical field, there are thousands of different words you could use in this industry.
Nursing is one of those highly important jobs in this business. And they also use their own words to talk and to refer to things. Some of these words are used almost daily. That’s why we thought it important to show you some of these major words that nurses use in Spanish.
You’ll notice that in parenthesis we added the pronunciation based on the Span¡shD!ctionary. So, you have everything to practice. Now go impress everyone in the hospital with your new Spanish vocabulary for nurses.
- Nurses – Enfermeros (male) (ehn fehr meh rohs) / Enfermeras (female) (ehn fehr meh rahs)
- Hospital – Hospital (ohs pee tahl)
- Pain – Dolor (doh lohr)
- Patient – Paciente (pah syehn teh)
- Wound – Herida (eh ree dah)
- Assessment – Evaluación (eh bah lwah syohn)
- Shot – Inyección (een yehk syohn)
- Syringe – Jeringa (heh reeng gah)
- Symptoms – Síntomas (see toh mahs)
- Treatment – Tratamiento (trah tah myehn toh)
- Emergency – Emergencia (eh mehr hehn syah)
- Vital signs – Signos vitales (seeg noah bee tahl ehs)
- Body temperature – Temperatura corporal (tehm peh rah too rah kohr poh rahl)
- Heart rate – Ritmo cardíaco (rreet moh kahr dee ah koh)
- Respiration rate – Frecuencia respiratoria (freh kwehn syah rrehs pee rrah toh ryah)
- Pulse rate – Frecuencia del pulso (freh kwehn syah dehl pool soh) / Pulso (pool soh)
- Blood pressure – Presión arterial (preh syohn ahr teh ryahl)
- Blood glucose – Glucosa (gloo koh sah) / Glucosa sanguínea (gloo koh sah sahng gee neh ah)
- Blood oxygen – Saturación de oxígeno (sah too rah syohn deh ohk see heh noh) / Oxígeno en la sangre (ohk see heh noh ehn lah sahng greh)
- Weight – Peso (peh soh)
- Blood type – Tipo de sangre (tee poh deh sahng greh)
- Hypertension – Hipertensión (ee pehr tehn syohn)
- Bradypnea – Bradipnea (brah deep neh ah)
- Bradycardia – Bradicardia (brah dee kahr dyah)
- Medical studies / Tests – Estudios médicos (ehs too dyohs meh dee kohs) / Estudios (ehs too dyohs)
- Dose – Dosis (doh sees)
- Fever – Fiebre (fyeh breh)
- Dizziness – Mareo (mah reh oh)
- Hemorrhage / Bleeding – Hemorragia (eh moh rrah hyah)
- Abrasion – Abrasión (ah brah syohn)
- Bruise – Moretón (moh reh tohn)
- Infection – Infección (een fehk syohn)
- Sterile – Estéril (ehs teh reel)
- Gown – Bata (bah tah)
- Diagnostic – Diagnóstico (dyahg nohs tee koh)
- Thermometer – Termómetro (tehr moh meh troh)
- Pulse oximeter – Oximetro de pulso (ohk see meh troh dehl pool soh)
- Glucometer – Glucómetro (gloo koh meh troh)
- Humidifying cup / Humidifier cup – Vaso humidificador (bah soh oo mee dee fee kah dohr)
- Nasogastric tube – Sonda nasogástrica (sohn dah nah soh gahs tree kah)
- Kangaroo pump – Bomba de canguro (bohm bah deh kahng goo roh)
- Dressing – Vendaje (behn dah heh)
- Bandage – Venda (behn dah)
- Intensive care unit – Unidad de cuidados intensivos (oo nee dahd deh kwee dah dohs een tehn see bohs)
- Medical history – Historial médico (ees toh ryahl meh dee koh)
- Medical insurance – Seguro médico (seh goo roh meh dee koh)
- Medicine – Medicina (meh dee see nah)
- Leukopoiesis – Leucopoyesis (leyoo koh poh yeh sees)
- Analgesics – Analgésicos (ah nahl heh see kohs)
- Aspirin – Aspirina (ahs pee ree nah)
- Bair hugger – Bair hugger (b air huh gr) / Sistema Bair hugger (sees teh mah b air huh gr)
- Abduction – Abducción (ab duk sion)
- Anesthesia – Anestesia (ah nehs teh syah)
- Surgery – Cirugía (see roo hee ah)
- To bind – Vendar (behn dahr)
- To dilute – Diluir (dee lweer)
- To examine – Examinar (ehk sah mee nahr)
- To cure / To heal – Curar (koo rahr)
Spanish Phrases for Nurses
There are some common phrases nurses use all the time. Whether it’s to talk with other nurses, ask for help, give instructions to nursing interns, or talk to patients. Here are some of those phrases in Spanish that nurses say a lot.
- This won’t hurt you. / No te dolerá.
- It doesn’t hurt. / No duele.
- You’re going to feel a small pinch/jab. / Vas a sentir un pequeño piquete/pinchazo.
- I’m going to take your blood pressure. / Voy a tomarle la presión arterial.
- I’m going to apply a shot that will help you. / Le voy a aplicar una inyección que le ayudará.
- Your veins are very thin. / Tus venas son muy delgadas.
- You have rolling veins. / Tiene venas bailarinas.
- Let’s take your vital signs. / Vamos a tomarle sus signos vitales.
- Let’s page Dr. Parker. / Llamemos al doctor Parker.
- The doctor will be right with you. / El doctor estará con usted pronto.
- You’ll need a dressing. / Necesitará un vendaje firme.
- Do you consume drugs or alcohol? / ¿Consumes drogas o alcohol?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does it hurt you? Being 1 a mild pain and 10 an intense pain. / En una escala del 1 al 10, ¿cuánto te duele? Siendo el 1 un dolor leve y el 10 un dolor intenso.
- The patient reports abdominal pain. / El paciente refiere dolor abdominal.
- Catheterized the patient, please. / Canaliza al paciente, por favor.
- The patient is stable. / El paciente se encuentra estable.
Become a Bilingual Nurse with Fluency Corp
If you’re ready to take the next step to improve as a healthcare professional, you’ve come to the right place. Here at Fluency Corp we can help you improve even more your language skills.
Not only will we teach you more vocabulary, but also help you upgrade in all the language areas, from listening to speaking. After all, they’re all necessary to work with foreign patients, families and doctors.
You must know that we offer corporate language classes. What does that mean? That our classes are based on your job and needs. So, if you work in medicine, we’ll focus our lessons on that.
You can also tell us specific things you need to learn. Maybe how to do administrative tasks in your target language. Or how to greet a patient in Spanish. Or even more vocabulary for nurses.
You can also invest in classes for your work team. Imagine having your whole team of nurses being bilingual! It’d be super useful!
The best of all is that we not only teach Spanish, but many more languages as well. Pick the best one for you and your team.
Just choose between our online or onsite classes. And contact us for a free consultation to answer all your questions.
You already help your patients every day, now let us help you!
