Saskia Gorospe Rombouts - The Everything Spanish Phrase Book for Health Care Professionals: A quick reference for medical and emergency situations

The
EVERYTHING
Series Dear Reader, We would like to start by saying graciasthank you. Simply by picking this phrasebook and learning to communicate with your Spanish-speaking patient s, you are showing that you are the kind of caring and dedicated healt h care profe ssional we want to see in our hospitals and clinics. You share your empathy and understanding of your patients and choose to take the extra step to build a relationship. We partnered to write this book, each of us bringing our own different stories and motivations. On the one hand, we bring the experience of a Spanish-speaking immigrant who has had to learn how to speak English and navigate the U.S. health care system.

On the other hand, we have the knowledge of a health care professional who has experienced firsthand how vulnerable non-English speakers can be when they arrive at the emergency department. We understand the challenges of trying to communicate with patients, who even children, to help relatives, often communicate have to use confidential issues. We wrote this book in the hopes that it will help you assess, treat, reassure, and educate your patients, and ultimately help you do your incredibly valuable jobin Spanish! Buena suerte! Good luck! Saskia Gorospe Rombouts
and Courtney Barbetto The EVERYTHING Series These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten. You can read from cover to cover or just pick out information from our four useful boxes. Alerts: Urgent warnings Essentials: Quick handy tips Facts: Important snippets of information Questions: Answers to common questions When youre done reading, you can finally
say you know EVERYTHING! PUBLISHER Karen Cooper DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier MANAGING EDITOR,everything series Lisa Laing COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Elizabeth Kassab EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com THE
EVERYTHING
SPANISH
PHRASE
BOOKFOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
A quick reference for medical
and emergency situations
Saskia Gorospe Rombouts
with Courtney Barbetto, RN
Copyright 2009 Simon and Schuster
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be
reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher;
exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered
trademarks of F+W Media, Inc. Published by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com ISBN 10: 1-59869-826-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-826-8
eISBN: 978-1-44052-142-3 Printed in the United States of America. J I H G F E D C B A Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
To Darryl and Itxaso, who brighten my world every day.
To my mom for her endless caring and support.SGRTo my husband Sal for being my best friend, and my
sons Sam, John, and Andrew, who have brought
me more joy than I could have imagined.CBAcknowledgments Thanks to Anne Marie, my mom, for her endless caring and support. Special thanks to Jenny Petrow for her insights and helpful comments, and for being an inspiration to me. Thanks to the hard-working nurses of Swedish Convenant Hospital in Chicago for their time and support. Thanks to Lisa Laing for the opportunity to be part of this project. SGR Thanks to Lisa for this opportunity. Do you speak English?Habla usted ingls? AH-blah oos-TEHD een-GLEHS 2. Do you have any allergies?Tiene alguna alergia? tee-EH-neh ahl-GOO-nah ah-LEHR-hee-ah 3. Are you taking any medication?Est tomando ustedalguna medicina? ehs-TAH toh-MAHN-doh oos-TEHD ahl-GOO-nah meh-dee-SEE-nah 4. Where does it hurt?Dnde le duele? DOHN-deh leh doo-EH-leh 5. How long have you had this symptom?Cuntotiempo ha tenido este sntoma? KWAHN-toh tee-EHM-poh ah teh-NEE-doh EHS-teh SEEN-toh-mah 6. Please speak more slowly.Por favor, hable msdespacio. pohr fah-VOHR AH-bleh mahs dehs-PAH-see-oh 7. Who should we contact in case of emergency?A quin debemos contactar en caso de emergencia? ah kee-EHN deh-BEH-mohs cohn-tac-TAHR ehn CAH-soh deh eh-mehr-HEHN-see-ah 8. Please dont move.Por favor, no se mueva. pohr fah-VOHR noh seh moo-EH-vah 9. Relax. Relax.

Everything will be fine.Reljese. Todo saldrbien. reh-LAH-heh-seh. TOH-doh sahl-DRAH bee-EHN 10. We need the help of an interpreter.Necesitamosla ayuda de un intrprete. neh-seh-see-TAH-mohs la ah-YOO-dah deh oon een-TEHR-preh-teh IntroductionBienvenidos! If you picked up this phrasebook, chances are that you have come across patients belonging to the fastest growing minority in the United States: Spanish-speakers. Whether you are a doctor, a nurse, or any other health care professional, you have taken an important first step to be able to communicate with your patients. The next step is to actually use this phrase book and communicate with your patients! Up to now, you may have relied on others to be able to communicate.

Family members and support staff are often summoned to translate or interpret for non-English speakers. This compromises confidentiality and increases the risk of receiving distorted information. This phrase book is designed for health care professionals with little or no formal background in Spanish who want to make a difference in these situations. Phrases and vocabulary are organized thematically so they are easily accessible. In most cases, all you have to do is find the phrase you need and read it exactly as it is presented. In your line of work, efficient communication is key as you deal with health issues and peoples lives.

In this phrase book you will find phrases and vocabulary clearly listed to communicate in a variety of situations. Have it handy so you can refer to it as needed. Take your time and, if necessary, use the transliterations to make sure you are understood. Questions are designed to elicit simple and clear answers so communication with your patients is not hindered. The goal, of course, is to make sure you get the right symptom and prescribe the appropriate dose. Keeping all this in mind, dont let it get in the way of your new adventure as a language learner! Communicating in Spanish does not have to be a chore.