A client of mine is a Polish GP and Paediatrician. A very nice chap in fact. He has his own practice in Poland and travels to the UK every 2 weeks to work weekend and out-of-hours shifts for a primary care trust (PCT).
Having originally helped him to get through his IELTS test in order to work for the PCT, he continues to have regular conversation classes. Following his first weekend in the UK, he returned with a multitude of stories and enthusiasm. "You know? They put milk in my tea!". Yes, this remains a novelty for many Poles, and no, we don't stop at 5 o'clock for tea! We do drink it by the barrel load though, and of course in order to restore the equilibrium we proceed to pee, piddle, wee, urinate, micturate, spend a penny, excrete, take a leak, pass water and for those swayed towards a more vulgar tone, piss for England. Don't even get me started on draining beasts and reptiles!
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| a wee drip of urine |
Dr D will be providing his take on medical English used in the real world by noting commonly used colloquialisms and expressions used by his patients and colleagues. His first insight is the word 'water', "but that's not very 'medical English' doc!", indeed, but as we've seen it can be used to politely say "doctor, i'm having trouble passing water" or "i've got a problem with my water works", and if you suffer from high blood pressure or heart failure, you just may well be prescribed 'water tablets', known in the field as diuretics. May the flow be with you.
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