Medical Specialties and Hospital Professions

Hospital Departments and Medical Specialties

• Dermatology: It treats diseases of the skin.
• Hematology: It studies blood disorders.
• Pharmacy: It dispenses medicines.
• Cardiology: It specializes in the heart.
• Surgery: It performs operations on patients.
• Physiotherapy: It designs special exercises for patients.
• Paediatrics: It deals with sick children.
• Pathology: It studies illnesses and analyses samples.
• Renal Unit: It treats kidney diseases.
• Obstetrics: It specializes in pregnancy and birth.
• Orthopaedics: It treats bones.
• Neurology: It treats disorders of the nervous system.

Medical Professions and Their Roles

1. A paediatrician treats children.
2. A midwife attends births and delivers babies.
3. A cardiologist specializes in illnesses of the heart and blood vessels.
4. A porter moves equipment, furniture, and patients around the hospital.
5. A radiologist takes X-rays and other images.
6. A scrub nurse assists surgeons in the operating theatre.
7. A pharmacist prepares medicines to give to medical staff or patients.
8. A paramedic responds to emergencies and gives first aid.
9. A surgeon performs operations.
10. A lab technician examines samples and tissues under a microscope.

Medical Vocabulary: Pain and Symptoms

Pain Intensity and Descriptors

• Intensity: intensidad
• Distress: angustia
• Mild: leve
• Excruciating: insoportable
• Burning: incendio / quema
• Sharp: agudo
• Throbbing: palpitante
• Moderate: moderado
• Constant: constante (todo el tiempo)
• Unbearable: inaguantable
• Intermittent: intermitente (de vez en cuando)
• Shooting: tiroteo
• Infrequent: infrecuente (no a menudo)
• Frequent: frecuente (a menudo)

Common Symptoms

• Cough: tos
• Dizzy: mareado
• Tired: cansado
• Earache: dolor de oído
• Itchy: picazón
• Headache: dolor de cabeza
• Nauseous: náuseas
• Skin rash: erupción cutánea
• Sweaty: sudoroso
• Runny nose: secreción nasal
• Sore throat: dolor de garganta
• Swollen gland: glándulas inflamadas

Patient Admission Case Study

Robert Portman was admitted with a suspected fractured coccyx after falling and hitting his back. Mr. Robert was born in 1980. He is married and works as an electrician. His next of kin is his wife, Helen. He can be contacted at 01753-598660. Mr. Robert smokes 5 cigarettes a day and does not drink alcohol. He is allergic to penicillin. There is a family history of high blood pressure on his mother's side.