If you are struggling to pronounce medical words so that you communicate as a health professional clearly and confidently, I am speaking to you today!

In fact I made this tutorial just for you because I care about healthcare and actually more importantly about your comfort when you communicate. If you can speak clearly and confidently with your patients, it will benefit all of us, we can never put too much care in healthcare, right?

Over the past 6 years I have worked with many healthcare professionals around lots of goals and today you will learn exactly how to improve your pronunciation of medical words, especially if English is your second language. 

 

Here is what you are going to learn:

• Why how you say it, matters as much as what you say in healthcare

 

• Why medical terms are among the hardest words of english to pronounce, even as a native speaker, let alone non-native speaker

 

• 3 actionable strategies to achieve clearer pronunciation for medical words

Finally, before we get started make sure you pick up another amazing resource for you. Our team have prepared a definitive list of  “How to Pronounce 99 Difficult Medical Words with Success” which you can get over on our website. I’ve popped the link below this video for you. 

 

So pick that up right away and let’s get started.

Back in 1940, Maxwell Thebaut opened a discussion around pronouncing medical words correctly. In fact he wrote a paper on the topic. My question is, do his ideas about medical pronunciation still matter to this day?

 

Opening his paper with the statement:

 

“This concerns not what is said, but how it is said.” 

 

He argues that back in 1940 doctors were flippant and nonchalant about pronouncing medical words correctly.

 

So my question while I prepped this vlog was, does it matter if you pronounce medical words incorrectly when working as a medical professional?

 

There are huge milestones working through the medical terminology lexicon.

We have words like 

Opisthotonos

Anaesthesiology

 

The medical professional when speaking English has been gifted with the longest words of English. In fact, if you do a search on the lengthiest English word in a standard dictionary, chances are you will find

 

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Weighing at 45 letters with 19 syllables, it turns out the word is now thankfully obscure. Perhaps it retired because it kept people waiting even longer, in the waiting room. 

I mean imagine telling your patient 

“I’m sorry to say, we have diagnosed you with  Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” 

Ranking in at number two is another medical condition-

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism.

With “only” 30 letters this one still packs quite a punch.

That being said, if you are a medical professional dealing with terms, you might notice that the term does not have to be long to be difficult to pronounce, especially if English is your second language. 

I mean even I had to sort out 

Trycophyton 

And oscultation

And when I have assisted several anaestheiologists in pronunciation, I’ve had to really swot up on my own ability with words like spondylolisthesis.

So what are some strategies you can apply to pronounce those difficult medical terms that freak you out, with clarity, as well as comfort?

Our team have prepped a few suggestions for you so that you can come out of that most medical multisyllabic word trap cleanly without too many cuts and scratches on your pronunciation prestige. 

 

And I really want to share these strategies with you right now, because we believe in the importance of communication comfort and success especially when you have so many people you’re responsible for as a health professional. There is so much going on in your job that pronunciation shouldn’t be holding you back or presenting as a stressful barrier to your patient relationships and colleagiate interactions.

 

So here are our stellar tips for clear pronunciation of medical words. 

Describing medical conditions clearly and using every day English for your patients is often the best practice for building your rapport and thus trust when working clinically however, these gargantuan terms simply can not be overlooked. There are many moments where you simply have to say them. Make sure you get your hands on this list over on our site. I’ve also recorded the words for your reference.

 

It’s really involved navigating the pronunciation of medical terms when English is your second language. Sometimes, it’s even nerve wracking working out how to pronounce a patient’s first name appropriately, let alone their difficult diagnosis.

 

Our team specialise in building your communication skill and pronunciation agility so that you can speak to your patients in calm and clear English.

Why does this matter?

 

Well unfortunately studies show that sadly negative bias still exists around unclear speaking. A study from The Journal of Langauge and Discrimination investigated “How Accent adn gender influence perceptions of competence and warmth in the medical profession.”

 

The main findings revealed that docs were rated as more competent when Standard British English was used. Further, medical professionals who used a local accent were also perceived as warmer. 

 

While I personally don’t have a problem with different inflections on medical words, we do have to take the research from the experts seriously. When your patient presents to you, they are usually anxious or overwhelmed. From a sensory and cognitive processing perspective, the clearer your communication is, in terms of the words used and the sounds applied, the more at ease your patient will be. 

 

So it really is worthwhile improving your speaking clarity, as a medical professional, irrespective of what language you are speaking, I’d also argue that many English native speakers could take more care with their pronunciaiton  and message as well, to benefit the comfort of their patients. 

Progressing your pronunciation and communication skill is a life-long, long term kinda goal. We are the last ones who will tell you there is a quick fix, magic trick to sharpening your English Speaking.

You’ve got to make the daily drill and practice as ritual as brushing your teeth…

 

I know… it would be a beautiful thing if 5 appointments with a speech pathologist made it all better. You’re going to need more than that! Personal practice is key. We’re communication scientists and the last thing we want to do is make up fairy tales for adults!

 

I remind you we are in the communication game together.  I am here trying to advocate for the importance of communication confidence and comfort and it takes a global team to do that.  

 

If you found this tutorial valuable don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and maybe even share it with your ward, team or peers. 

You can also get extra tips for your communication by subscribing to our youtube channel or following us over on facebook and instagram. 

 As I always say, “Communication is like string Theory, it’s the Foundation of Everything.” so go get them.

Thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you next time!

Ciao!

XO