Lesson 1

Human Body

One of the first things you need to know when working in English is the parts of the body. You
will need to learn the names of the internal (inside the skin) and external body parts. You will
also need to learn the words for the functions of each of these body parts. Here are the basics
to get you started.

Head
Inside the head is the brain, which is responsible for thinking. The top of a person's
scalp is covered with hair. Beneath the hairline at the front of the face is the forehead.
Underneath the forehead are the eyes for seeing, the nose for smelling, and the
mouth for eating. On the outside of the mouth are the lips, and on the inside of the mouth are
the teeth for biting and the tongue for tasting. Food is swallowed down the throat. At the sides
of the face are the cheeks and at the sides of the head are the ears for hearing. At the bottom of
a person's face is the chin. The jaw is located on the inside of the cheeks and chin. The neck is
what attaches the head to the upper body.

Upper Body
At the top and front of the upper body, just below the neck is the collar bone.
On the front side of the upper body is the chest, which in women includes the
breasts. Babies suck on the nipples of their mother's breasts. Beneath the
ribcage are the stomach and the waist. The navel, more commonly referred to
as the belly button, is located here as well. On the inside of the upper body are the heart for
pumping blood and the lungs for breathing. The rear side of the upper body is called the back,
inside which the spine connects the upper body to the lower body.

Upper Limbs (arms)

The arms are attached to the shoulders. Beneath this area is called the armpit or
underarm. The upper arms have the muscles known as triceps and biceps. The
joint halfway down the arm is called the elbow. Between the elbow and the next joint, the wrist,
is the forearm. Below the wrist is the hand with four fingers and one thumb. Beside the thumb
is the index finger. Beside the index finger is the middle finger, followed by the ring finger and
the little finger. At the ends of the fingers are fingernails.

Lower Body
Below the waist, on left and right, are the hips. Between the hips are the
reproductive organs, the penis (male) or the vagina (female). At the back of the
lower body are the buttocks for sitting on. They are also commonly referred to as the rear end
or the bum (especially with children). The internal organs in the lower body include the
intestines for digesting food, the bladder for holding liquid waste, as well as the liver and the
kidneys. This area also contains the woman's uterus, which holds a baby when a woman is
pregnant.

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 Lower Limbs (legs)

The top of the leg is called the thigh, and the joint in the middle of the leg is the
knee. The front of the lower leg is the shin and the back of the lower leg is the calf.
The ankle connects the foot to the leg. Each foot has five toes. The smallest toe is
often called the little toe while the large one is called the big toe. At the ends of the toes are
toenails.

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 A. Complete the dialogue by putting the correct word or words into the space.

X : Do you have a problem with your part of your body?

Y : No, I don’t have a problem with my part of my body
Yes, I have a problem with your part of your body

X : Do you know all part of your body?

Y : No, I____________
X : Do you know the upper part of your body?
Y : Yes, I________________
X : Do you _________ (remember/remembers) the lower limb part of your body in
English?
Y : No, I remember the lower part of your body in English
X : _____ you understand the upper limb part of your body in English?
Y : Yes, I understand the upper limb part of your body in English?

B. Practice the dialog with your partner

C. Now ask your partner the question. Your partner must give answers which are true for him
or her. Write their answers.

Friend’s Name
Questions
1. 2. 3.

All part of your body

Upper part of your body

Lower limb part of your

body

Upper limb part of your

body

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D. Feel the blank sentence below with the correct word
1. If your …. hurt, you should go to the dentist
2. If you open your …. you will see better
3. A wedding ring is worn on the ….
4. Pinocchio got a very big …. because he told too many lies
5. If you are very cold, put a woolen scarf around your....
6. Eating is very easy. You just put food into your ….
7. If you drink too much beer, your …. will hurt the next day
8. Be careful not to injure your …. when you lift something heavy
9. Men who drink a lot of beer often have large ….
10. You put socks on your ….

E. Human body quiz. Circle the correct answer

1. your tonsils can get swollen when you have (thigh/toe/throat/lips)

2. The (elbow/ankle/shoulder/knee) is located in the middle of the arm
3. My Dad's little (thumb/toe/wrist/armpit) was lost in the accident
4. The patient lost so much weight his (calves/thigh/muscles/cheeks) were sunken in
5. We will put a cool cloth on you (knees/tongue/teeth/forehead) to get your fever down
6. Another word for belly button is (knee/navel/chest/stomach)
7. The newborn is getting his (thigh/bum/shin/heart) changed in the nursery
8. She may never walk again because her (uterus/spine/finger/eye) was so badly injured
9. The (collar bone/limb/teeth/skin) on his knee was scraped off when he hit the road
10. Your grandfather will be able to walk better after his (chain/waist/hip/arm) surgery

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 Lesson 2
The Hospital Team

A big hospital is like a small town; it needs thousands of people to make it work. All these
people are organized into teams and each person in each team has a rank and often a
specialism. In the past, the health care team’s chain of command was simple: doctors made
decisions and gave senior nurses orders. Senior nurses then instructed junior nurses, and so on.
Things are changing. In many countries nurses have much more responsibility than they once
had.

One thing is not changing; it is still a doctor who is in charge of a patient’s treatment. In Britain,
that doctor is called a consultant. Next in line to the consultant is the registrar. Consultants and
registrars train the junior doctors who are called house officers or interns. Junior doctors work
the same long, unsocial hours that nurses do on the wards. The most senior nurses are nursing
officers; they are administrators. Then come ward managers who supervise staff nurses and
students.

It is not only doctors and nurses who deliver treatment and care; there are many other
specialists too. For example, there are physiotherapists who specialize in exercises to treat
injury or dysfunction and occupational therapists who help patients manage every-day living.
There are also many people the patient does not meet like lab technicians doing the tests and
pharmacists dispensing medicines.

Like any town, a hospital has teams of office staff and ancillary workers such as porters,
orderlies, technicians, drivers, cleaners, receptionists and cooks. Every team is essential for the
delivery of treatment and care. This includes the volunteers who, without pay, raise money for
the hospital and run shops, cinemas, libraries and restaurants.

A. Comprehension
Use the information in the text to complete the sentences with a, b or c.

1 A hospital is like a small town because _______

a it’s busy.
b it’s full of different kinds of people.
c there are so many buildings.

2 The difference between now and the past is that ______

a nursing is easier.
b nurses make more decisions.
c nurses work harder.

3 Consultants and nursing officers are both _________ .

a senior staff.
b house officers.
c in charge of a patient’s treatment .

4 Ward managers are ________ .

a nurses.
b office workers.
c senior doctors.

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5 Lab technicians and pharmacists _______ .
a deliver treatment and care.
b work in the background.
c help the specialists.

6 Hospital volunteers are __________.

a sometimes needed.
b paid well.
c essential.

B. Words from the text

Match each verb 1–7 to a suitable phrase a–g. The first one is done for you.

1 specialize a new staff

2 train b unsocial hours

3 make c a busy department

4 dispense d injuries and dysfunctions

5 run e quick decisions

6 work f in pediatrics

7 treat g medicines

C. Further vocabulary practices

Underline the correct words in italics to complete the sentences. The first one is done for
you.

1 The nurse understands the treatment / to treat.

2 You can consult / consultant the doctor about it.

3 I want to see a specialist / specialize / specialism.

4 I’m working in reception / receptionist.

5 The director manager / management / manages the hospital.

6 A registrar helps to trainer / train / training junior doctors.

7 He is nursing / nurse full time now.

D. Grammar
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1 The patient is arriving / arrives / arrived at 9.45 p.m. last night.

2 We didn’t called / didn’t call / calling an ambulance, because it wasn’t necessary.

3 Did you catch / catched / caught your cold at school?

4 I walked / am walking / was walking when the dog attacked me.

5 A Did she interview the patient? B Yes, she did / interviewed / do.

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6 What were you doing while / when / during you broke your leg?

7 She didn’t / wasn’t / were concentrating while she was driving. 8 They were / was / been in a
fight.

E. Writing
Write your profile Read the example personal profile and write a similar one about yourself,

explaining: • why you became a nurse

Example Personal Profile

When I was a child I wanted to be an accountant because mathematics was my favorite subject
at school. I was no good at science and not very good with people, so I thought that nursing was
not for me. But when I was sixteen my grandmother got very ill. I watched the nurses care for
her as she slowly died, and I realized that I wanted to be like them.

When I left school I applied to train as a nurse. A training college accepted me and I started the
course two years ago. I am still training and getting experience. I know that nursing is not right
for everyone, but personally I love it.

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 Lesson 3

In and Around The Hospital

Some hospitals specialize in particular conditions like cancer or psychiatric illness. Other
hospitals specialize in particular types of patients like geriatrics, children or the terminally ill.
However, the best known type of hospital is the general hospital which deals with almost
everything, has ambulance crews and beds for both intensive care and long stay.

A big general hospital has many different specialist departments. Identifying departments can
be confusing because different hospitals use different names for the same thing. For example,
one hospital may have a ‘children’s unit’ which a different hospital calls ‘Pediatrics’. ‘Accident
and Emergency’ (A&E) in one hospital is called ‘Casualty’ in another.

There are many other examples. The department that specializes in heart problems, is
sometimes called ‘Coronary Care’. Others call it ‘Cardiology’ or ‘Cardiovascular medicine’.
Nephrology, the department that treats illnesses of the kidney is sometimes called ‘the Renal
Unit’. Gastroenterology (digestive system) is sometimes ‘the Department of Hepatology’.

Hospital staff often use abbreviations for departments. For example, they refer to ‘Obs and
Gynae’. This is a department combining Obstetrics (pregnancy), and Gynaecology (women’s
reproductive organs). They call Otolaryngology, ‘ENT’ (ears, nose & throat), mostly because it is
much easier to say.

A. Comprehension

a What three types of hospitals are mentioned in the text?

______________________________________________________________________________

b Which is the most common type of hospital?

_____________________________________________________________________________

c Why are hospital department names confusing?

_____________________________________________________________________________

d Which two departments mentioned in the text, deal with the gastrointestinal tract?

_____________________________________________________________________________

e How many departments is ‘Obs & Gynae’?

_____________________________________________________________________________

f What is a common name for the Otolaryngology Department?

_____________________________________________________________________________

B. Vocabulary
Find terms in the text that means the same as a-g. The first one is done for you.

a mental health problems psychiatric illness____

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b elderly people ___________

c people who are dying _________

d paramedics _________

e treatment for critically ill patients __________

f stomach and intestines _________

g uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes ________

C. Further vocabulary practice

Match department names 1-6 with parts of the body a-f.

Department name Parts of the body

1 Coronary Care a tonsils

2 Gynaecology b cervix

3 Obstetrics c bowel

4 Gastroenterology d heart

5 ENT e kidneys

6 Nephrology f placenta

D. Grammar
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1 Surgeons performs / performing / perform operations.

2 I’m a midwife, I delivers / I’m delivering / deliver babies.

3 The paramedic is unavailable. He responds / ’s responding / respond to an emergency.

4 A Do you work in a hospital? B Yes, I work / do / does.

5 I want / wanting / wants to qualify as a physiotherapist.

6 I like to working / working / work with people.

7 Do you / You are / Are you taking the patient to surgery?

8 I do /’m doing / to do a night shift this week.

E. Key words from the unit

Complete the sentences with the words from the list.
qualified
1 ________are on the bottom grade.
nursing officers
2 ________often work in administration. promotion
part-time apply
3 The new job is a ________ for her. for a job
auxiliary nurses
4 Psychiatric nurses _________ in mental health. rewarding
specialize
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5 You can do a ________ course while you work.

6 You need to send a CV when you ________ .

7 Contact with patients can be very _____________

8 We are looking for well _________ staff.

F. Writing
Write your profile Read the example personal profile and write a similar one about yourself,

explaining: • what you are doing now (continue your previous paragraph in the lesson 2)

Example Personal Profile

When I was a child I wanted to be an accountant because mathematics was my favorite subject
at school. I was no good at science and not very good with people, so I thought that nursing was
not for me. But when I was sixteen my grandmother got very ill. I watched the nurses care for
her as she slowly died, and I realized that I wanted to be like them.

When I left school I applied to train as a nurse. A training college accepted me and I started the
course two years ago. I am still training and getting experience. I know that nursing is not right
for everyone, but personally I love it.

I try to study hard in the college. I hope I can get great learning experience and useful
knowledge. I want to be professional nurse___________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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 Lesson 4
The Hospital Admission

There are three ways to admit a patient to hospital: either as an outpatient, a day patient or an
inpatient. An outpatient needs treatment but not a bed. A day patient needs a bed for a few
hours, but doesn’t need to stay overnight. An inpatient needs at least one overnight stay.

Hospitals need to plan for patient admissions. They have to predict how many beds they will
need. It is quite easy to predict referrals from doctors like General Practitioners, but a larger
number of patients come through A&E, and it is more difficult to plan for them.

It is very important to keep accurate records of patients’ treatment, from admission through to
discharge and follow-up. These include personal details such as marital status, occupation and
next of kin, as well as medical history such as past illnesses and treatments, family history and
lifestyle.

Medical staff record all treatments, test results and correspondence. They try to record these
things at the time they happen. This is important, and not only to ensure the correct treatment.
Medical records are sometimes used for research, or in a court of law.

A. Comprehension
According to the text, are the following statements are true (T) or false (F)?

1 Admissions to hospital are all inpatients FALSE (F).

2 There are more emergency admissions than referrals TRUE (T).

3 Hospital records stop at discharge TRUE (T).

4 Personal details are part of medical records TRUE (T).

5 Staff should record treatments at the end of their shift FALSE (F).

6 Only medical staff can look at medical records TRUE (T).

B. Vocabulary
Match the words or phrases 1–7 to a suitable definition a–g. The first one is done for you.

1 overnight stay a when a patient is sent to hospital

2 admission b normal, everyday behavior

3 referral c treatment after a patient has been discharged from hospital

4 discharge d time as an inpatient

5 follow-up e letters, emails and messages

6 correspondence f the moment when a patient enters hospital

7 lifestyle g when a patient is told they can leave hospital

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C. Further vocabulary practice
Underline the correct words in italics to complete the sentences.
The first one is done for you.

1 We don’t need beds for out / in / day patients.

2 Who is your family history / next of kin / occupation?

3 What is your marital status / past illnesses / personal details ?

4 The new patient is a referral / admission / discharge from Cardiology.

5 We need you to come back to the hospital for discharge / follow-up / admission tests.

6 If you don’t stop smoking and drinking so much, your lifestyle / test results / medical history
may kill you.

7 After you sign the discharge / correspondence / record form, you can go home.

D. Grammar
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1 He will to / wills / will feel better after a short sleep.

2 Do you will / Will you / You will / visit me again tomorrow?

3 I’m afraid your grandfather won’t / not will / isn’t remember your name.

4 I help / I’ll help / I’ll to help / Mavis have her bath.

5 I hope I won’t put / don’t put / put my parents in a bad care home.

6 It’s possible that, you are having / will have / have arthritis when you are old.

7 A Will he need a hearing aid? B No, he won’t / will / doesn’t.

8 I ‘s / ‘ll is / ‘ll be happy to see you tomorrow.

E. Key words from the unit

Complete the sentences with the words from the list.

1 She likes to have a Nap after lunch.

shuffling
2 Alzheimer’s causes a loss of Stimulation function. immobile
mobility aid
3 Sufferers often have a Shuffling gait. nap
independence
4 The mind needs Cognitive to stay fit.
deaf
5 He is quite immobile but he can see well. stimulation
cognitive
6 She is mobility aid so she needs a power chair.

7 Loss of Deaf is frustrating for the elderly.

8 With a independence she can visit the shops.

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F. Writing
Write your profile Read the example personal profile and write a similar one about yourself,

explaining: • Your career plans (continue your previous paragraph in the lesson 3)

Example Personal Profile

When I was a child I wanted to be an accountant because mathematics was my favorite subject
at school. I was no good at science and not very good with people, so I thought that nursing was
not for me. But when I was sixteen my grandmother got very ill. I watched the nurses care for
her as she slowly died, and I realized that I wanted to be like them.

When I left school I applied to train as a nurse. A training college accepted me and I started the
course two years ago. I am still training and getting experience. I know that nursing is not right
for everyone, but personally I love it.

I try to study hard in the college. I hope I can get great learning experience and useful
knowledge. I want to be professional nurse_______________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

I will look for job, after I graduate from the college. I will send application letters to hospitals not
only in my town but also in out of my town.
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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 Lesson 5
Accident and Emergencies

A Every day of the year people come through the doors of A&E departments. Some walk and
some come on stretchers. They may be victims of road traffic accidents, violence, accidents at
home, self-harming, poisoning, burns, and so on.

B A&E is for people who are seriously injured, perhaps unconscious or losing a lot of blood.
Hospitals usually say that A&E departments are only for critical or life-threatening situations.

C Some people go to A&E with minor injuries like sprains, insect bites, cuts and nose bleeds.
They should not be there. Usually they have to wait a long time before they are examined and
sometimes staff will send them away.

D When A&E departments have multiple casualties, after a major incident like a train crash,
they have to decide who is a priority and who can wait. To do this they use a procedure called
triage.

E They sort patients into groups. There are those who need immediate surgery, those who are
stable but need hospital care, and those who only need first aid. People who are going to die
are not a priority for medical care.

F Nursing in A&E is fast moving and interesting. The high level of stress can sometimes mean
that staffs suffer emotional problems. A&E staffs are well known for their dark sense of humor –
they say it helps to deal with the stress of the job.

A. Comprehension
Match each paragraph A–F with the correct heading 1–6.

1 Triage categories _________

2 The purpose of triage _________

3 The purpose of A&E ___________

4 A&E staff are victims ___________

5 Patients who present to A&E ___________

6 Non-emergencies ____________

B. Vocabulary
Complete the sentences with the words in the list.

1 Use a stretcher to bring in the next _________ – she can’t walk.

victim
critical
2 This patient’s condition is _____ at the moment, but she needs to see a doctor soon.
minor
3 He has _______ injuries, but they are not life-threatening. casualty
stable
4 This patient is in serious danger – his condition is _______ . priority

5 She has cuts and bruising to her face – I’m sure she’s a ________ of violence.

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6 This child is seriously ill – he’s a _______ for immediate treatment.

C. Further vocabulary practice

Choose the word or phrase from the list which has the same meaning as the underlined
words in sentences 1–6.

1 The patient is conscious – you can talk to her now __________

awake and alert
2 Remove the pads from his chest________. critical

3 Make sure you keep his head still – you might injure his spine __________. immobilize take
off right now
4 He needs treatment immediately __________.
repeat
5 If the procedure is not successful, you may have to do it again _________. victim

6 Her condition is serious, but not life-threatening ____________.

D. Grammar
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1 I ’m going to prepare / preparing / ’m preparing a prescription at the moment.

2 I think this going / going to / is going to hurt a little.

3 Next, I ’m going to give / give you / ’m giving you an injection.

4 I’ve checked the X-ray, you won’t / aren’t needing / aren’t going to need an operation.

5 A : Are you going to go to hospital? B : Yes, I are / going / am.

6 Do you think there is going / is going to be / is going to another flu pandemic?

7 She is not going / is going to / not is going to get better soon.

8 I’m studying / going to study / study Physiotherapy when I finish my basic training.

E. Key words from the unit

Complete the sentences with the words from the list.

1 Antibiotics kill ________________.

2 The doctor made a ____________ on the patient.

germs
3 The doctor _____________ the wrong medication. constipation
mutate
4 Take a laxative for_____________ . diagnosis
spread dose
5 A ___________ will increase body activity. prescribed
stimulant
6 This is the correct ___________ for the medication.

7 Flu can ______________ very quickly.

8 A ____________ virus can and change.

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 Lesson 6

Pain

Pain is important because it tells us that we are injured or ill. However, we don’t all feel pain in
the same way. Researchers are trying to learn more about this fact. Their experiments show that
children are more sensitive to pain than adults, and that men can tolerate more pain than
women.

Pain is also difficult to measure and describe. This is a problem because it is an important
symptom and medics (medical staff) need information from patients about it. It is therefore
common practice to give patients lists of words and ask them to say which words best describe
three things: the type of pain they are suffering, its intensity (how bad it is ) and its frequency
(how often they feel it).

With some patients, such as children, words don’t work very well to describe intensity, so
medics use smiley faces or sometimes colors. For example, blues mean a mild pain and reds
mean severe pain. Some medics prefer a range of numbers; 0 is no pain and 10 is unbearable
pain.

Pain does not always show where an injury is. Internal organs, for example, do not have many
pain receiving nerve endings, so internal injuries often cause pain in a different part of the body.
This is called ‘referred pain’. One example of referred pain is when someone suffering a heart
attack feels pain in their left shoulder, arm or hand.

A. Comprehension
Use the information in the text to complete the sentences with a, b or c.

1 Researchers are trying to find out why .

a people experience pain differently.
b people feel pain.
c pain is important to people.

2 Experiments show that .

a pain is worse for men than women.
b men can take more pain than women.
c children feel less pain than adults.

3 Nurses need to measure a patient’s pain because .

a pain is a problem.
b pain is a symptom.
c patients can’t describe it.

4 Medics ask patients for a number to describe .

a the kind of pain they have.
b how bad the pain is.
c how often they’re in pain.

5 To describe pain, medics ask children to .

a point to a smiley face.
b think of some numbers.

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c say how it feels.

6 You experience referred pain .

a only in your internal organs.
b long after an injury.
c in a different place from an injury.

B. Vocabulary
Write ‘F’ next to the sentences which are about frequency of pain.
Write ‘T’ next to the sentences which describe types of pain (T).

1 He says his toe is throbbing. __________

2 It’s wearing off now and it’s just an occasional ache. ________

3 The shooting pains are getting worse. _________

4 He complains of frequent headaches. ___________

5 She has a stabbing pain in her side. __________

6 She was in constant pain, but now it’s gone. ________

C. Further vocabulary practice

Give these patients’ pain a score from 1 to 6. 1 is the lowest pain, 6 is most severe.

a ‘It’s moderately painful when you touch it.’ _________

b ‘It’s agonizing, I can’t bear it.’ __________

c ‘There is a very mild pain when I move.’ _____________

d ‘It feels very sore.’ __________

e ‘There’s a severe stabbing pain in my head.’ _______

f ‘It’s not bad today, thank you.’___________

D. Grammar
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1 Lee won’t be at work today. He ’s broken / broke / ’ve broken his leg.

2 Mrs Kitano has had / have / had a baby girl yesterday.

3 Virginia Woolf suffered / has suffered / did suffer from depression when she killed herself.

4 I ’ve ever / ’ve never / never visited a Psychiatric Unit before.

5 She has been here for / since / during six months already.

6 He didn’t respond / hasn’t responded / isn’t respond to treatment yet.

7 She had / has / has had a bath already today but she might want one later.

8 A Did she have another episode? B Yes, she had / did / did have.

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E. Key words from the unit
Complete the sentences with the words from the list.

1 _________ patients can be dangerous. Side effects

placements
2 I worked in the hospital _______ unit. bipolar
traumatic
3 Tourette sufferers often have vocal _________ . psychiatric
tics
4 The patient committed __________ . psychotic
suicide
5 Some medication has had __________ .

6 _________ disorder was called manic depression.

7 Student nurses go on_______ to learn.

8 She had a _________ experience and became depressed.

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