Unit 1

Around the Hospital

A. Hospital Department
Do you know each department on the picture below? Discuss with your friends about the functions of
each departments.

Study the vocabulary and try the matching exercise!

1. The patient will be required to provide personal information and a. Diagnostic
sign consent forms before being taken to the hospital unit or Imaging
ward.
2. Also called Casualty Department, where you're likely to be taken b. Anesthetics
if you have arrived in an ambulance or emergency situation.
3. Also called intensive care, this department is for seriously ill c. General Services
patients.
4. Also known as X-Ray Department and/or Radiology d. Admissions
Department.
5. This department investigates and treats digestive and upper and e. Urology
lower gastrointestinal diseases.
6. Doctors in this department give a drug or agent that produces a f. Patient Services
complete or partial loss of feeling.
7. Provide antenatal care, delivery of babies and care during g. Critical Care
childbirth, and postnatal support.
8. Provides a range of ophthalmic eye related services for both in h. Breast Screening
and outpatients.

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9. Provide specialist advice on diet for hospital wards and i. Maternity Ward
outpatient clinics.
10. A source of information and can channel patient queries in j. Ophthalmology
relation to hospital services to the appropriate departments.
11. Provide a professional, efficient and customer focused service to k. Nutrition and
managers and staff and in turn facilitate the delivery of a Dietetics
professional, efficient and customer focused service to patients.
12. Support Services such as portering, catering, housekeeping, l. Accident and
security, health & safety, switch, laundry and the management of emergency
facilities such as parking, baby tagging, access control, CCTV (A&E)
etc.
13. Care for and treat patients for musculoskeletal disorders such as: m. Human
bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. Resources
14. Screens women for breast cancer and is usually linked to the X- n. Gastroenterology
ray or radiology department.
15. Department is run by consultant urology surgeons and o. Rheumatology
investigates areas linked to kidney and bladder conditions.

Reading the following text carefully!

The Kinds of 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 staffs 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.

Comprehension questions
1. What three types of hospitals are mentioned in the text?
2. Which is the most common type of hospital?
3. Why are hospital department names confusing?
4. Which two departments mentioned in the text, deal with the gastrointestinal tract?
5. How many departments is ‘Obs & Gynae’?
6. What is a common name for the Otolaryngology Department?

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Listening
Listen to William O’Neil answering telephone calls and directing operations. Complete these notes
that makes of the phone calls
a. The pathology lab wants _____________________ and __________________.
b. Take ______________ to the waste bin. They are outside _________________, near the
____________ on the ______________.
Ward 4 needs a _______________ to take a patient to________________

B. Medical Tools
1. Look at the pictures below, and identify what their names and functions are!

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2. Match the picture below and its name in the box!
A B C

D E F

G H

1. Infusion pump 5. Infusion set

2. Nasal canula 6. Syringe and needle
3. Ophthalmoscope and otoscope 7. Bandage
4. Sphygmomanometer 8. Stethoscope

3. Here is a list of some of the most common supplies found in doctor's offices, operating rooms, and
medical kits. Study the vocabulary and try the matching exercise!
1. Bandage a. liquid used to sterilize (clean) the surface of the skin
2. Elastic Tape b. a cloth covering that is placed over a wound to prevent
bleeding, swelling and infection
3. Blood Pressure c. tool used to cut bandages
Monitor
4. Antiseptic d. a tool that measures the force of blood flow through a
person's body
5. Forceps e. protective covering that is placed over a wound
6. Bandage Scissors f. a thin roll of stretchy material that is sticky on one side
7. Dressing g. a poster of letter, word, and number combinations of various
sizes used to test a person's eyesight

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 8. Eye Chart h. instrument used during operations and medical procedures
(assists the doctor in pulling, holding, and retrieving)
9. Privacy Screen i. thin, netted material used for dressing wounds
10. Oxygen Mask j. sharp pointed metal piece that pricks the skin (attached to a
syringe), used for taking blood or administering medicine
11. Scales k. the pouch that contains liquids to be pumped into a patient's
body
12. Stethoscope l. small plastic measuring cup
13. Microscope m. equipment that makes small things appear larger than they
are
14. Otoscope n. a device used for looking into a patient's ears
15. Hypodermic o. equipment that fits over the nose and mouth and supplies
Needle oxygen
16. Table And Head- p. an object that is used to separate the doctor and patient from
Rest Paper others in an open room
17. IV Bag q. a device that measures a person's weight
18. Medicine Cup r. equipment for listening to a person's heart and lungs

19. Vial s. a cylinder-shaped piece that attaches to a needle and can be

filled with liquid
20. Thermometer t. paper that is placed on an examining table or head-rest to
prevent the spread of germs
21. Gauze u. glass cylinder that is filled with blood or other liquids and
can be capped and placed in a storage area
22. Test Tube v. an instrument used to check a person's body temperature
23. Syringe w. a small bottle or container used for storing liquids

4. Match the comments with the supplies that are needed!

1. We'll have to feed him with liquids. a. table and head-rest paper
2. We'll have to get a blood sample. b. thermometer
3. I can't catch my breath. c. oxygen mask
4. Can you cut this gauze for me? d. hypodermic needle
5. Let's find out your weight. e. bandage scissors
6. I need to examine the patient in private. f. scales
7. Let's check your vision. g. eye chart
8. I need to sterilize the wound. h. antiseptic
9. Prepare the examining table for the next patient. i. IV bag
10. Let's see if you are running a fever. j. privacy screen