Hospital Visit

The doctor's office and the ER — the vocabulary you hope you won't need.

20 words

1. hospital n. /ˈhɑˌspɪtəɫ/

a place where people who are ill or injured go to be treated by doctors and nurses.
2. doctor n. /ˈdɑktɝ/

a person who is trained to treat people who are ill or injured. You visit this person when you feel sick or need a check-up.
3. nurse n. /ˈnɝs/

a person whose job is to care for people who are sick or injured. They usually work in hospitals or clinics alongside doctors.
4. patient adj. /ˈpeɪʃənt/

a common word used to describe someone who can wait calmly, or a person who is seeing a doctor for medical help.
5. emergency n. /ˈimɝdʒənsi/

a serious or dangerous situation that happens suddenly and needs immediate action.
6. ambulance n. /ˈæmbjəɫəns/

a vehicle that takes sick or injured people to the hospital in an emergency; it can also mean a mobile hospital in a war zone.
7. symptom n. /ˈsɪmptəm/

a physical or mental sign that you have an illness, or a sign that a larger problem exists in a situation.
8. diagnosis n. /ˌdaɪəɡˈnoʊsəs/

the act of identifying a medical problem or the cause of a situation after looking at the facts.
9. treatment n. /ˈtɹitmənt/

the way you deal with someone or something, or medical care for an illness.
10. prescription n. /pɹəsˈkɹɪpʃən/

a common word for a doctor's note for medicine, but it can also mean a rule for how to do something or a legal time limit.
11. medication n. /ˌmɛdəˈkeɪʃən/

a drug or medicine used to treat an illness or medical condition.
12. surgery n. /ˈsɝdʒɝi/

a medical treatment where a doctor cuts into the body to fix or remove something; in British English, it also means a doctor's office or a meeting with a politician.
13. surgeon n. /ˈsɝdʒən/

a doctor who is specially trained to perform medical operations by cutting into the body.
14. ward n. /ˈwɔɹd/

a common word for a room in a hospital, a local area for voting, or a person looked after by a guardian; as a verb, it usually means to push away something bad.
15. appointment n. /əˈpɔɪntmənt/

a meeting at a specific time, or the act of choosing someone for an important job.
16. injection n. /ˌɪnˈdʒɛkʃən/

the act of putting a liquid into something using pressure, such as medicine into a person's body or money into a business.
17. bandage n. /ˈbændɪdʒ/

a long piece of soft cloth that you wrap around an injury to protect it or keep it clean.
18. wound n. /ˈwaʊnd/

a physical injury to the body, like a deep cut, or a feeling of being deeply hurt emotionally.
19. recovery n. /ɹɪˈkəvɝi/

the process of getting better after being sick, or getting back something that was lost or stolen.
20. wheelchair n. /ˈhwiɫˌtʃɛɹ/

a chair with wheels used by people who cannot walk or have difficulty moving around.