Study Medical English in Vancouver, Canada - Medical English language programs in Vancouver.

Core Medical English Course

This is the fundamental course offered by the Medical English school in Vancouver and is the basis from which other courses were developed. It concentrates on the acquisition of English in a medical context and it is intended for students with an intermediate to advanced level of English knowledge.

The course is designed to complement the learning process that is natural to most people. We find that 3 hours of intense learning is about the most that an average person can usefully absorb in a day. The rest of the day can be spent most beneficially doing exercises designed to reinforce the learned material. This is accomplished in the companion course, Practicing Medical English.

The Core course is concentrated and meant to get the material into the students head, the companion course Practicing Medical English keeps it there.

Vancouver Language Courses The course is ongoing on a four month rotating basis. All components of the course will be taught every month but the content will not repeat itself until the fifth month. This means that a student can enter the course at any time, and can choose a one, two, three or four month intensive course. Students completing the full four-month program will give graduating presentations and receive a diploma.

We recommend that students take the full program of 30 hours a week which includes 15 hours of intensive classroom learning (Core Medical English Immersion) and another 15 hours of Medical English reinforcement (Practicing Medical English) which include use of the language laboratory, shadowing (observing) of medical professionals, conversation and pronunciation classes. However, we will try to accommodate students that wish to take only one course at a time.

Core Course Content:

Medical Terminology
Role Playing
Emergency vocabulary
Interview techniques and dialogues in an English-speaking culture
Talking to patients in terms they can understand
Medical procedures
Inferring meaning of unfamiliar words from context
Medical communication with other professionals

Students completing the full four-month program will give graduating presentations and receive a diploma.

Practicing Medical English Course

This course is intended to be taken with the Core Medical English Course. It is designed to reinforce the material learned in that course.

Vancouver Language Courses Practicing Medical English is not as intense as Core Medical English but it is calculated to help the student commit the Core material to long-term memory. This is done by using the material learned in the Core course.

The two courses are coordinated so that the same material that is being taught in the Core course is being reinforced in this course. The fact that there is a maximum of 4 students in the class assures the students that they have ample class time to use what they have learned.

Like the Core course Practicing Medical English is ongoing on a four month rotating basis. All components of the course will be taught every month but the content will not repeat itself until the fifth month. This means that a student can enter the course at any time, and can choose a one, two, three or four month course.

The program is 15 hours a week and includes 15 hours of learning which include use of the language laboratory, shadowing of medical professionals, conversation and pronunciation classes.

Practicing Course Content:

Conversation
Pronunciation
Speaking
Reading (minimal)
Language lab exercises
Shadowing of Canadian medical professionals

Core Medical English Course Curriculum

The starting dates for each week are listed on the Dates and Fees page. Each week has a different starting date.
Week 1	How to build medical words Review of anatomical structures Human body Understanding the patient History taking (with interrogative construction) Female Reproductive System
Week 2	Symptom description Describing the patient Common/medical diseases (common and medical descriptions) Terminology History and note taking Male Reproductive system Case studies
Week 3	Physical Examination (theory and practice) Hospital admissions Patient condition (with phrasal verbs) Terminology Giving instructions (with use of proper imperatives) The Urinary System
Week 4	Telephone skills Giving advice to patients using proper modal construction A look at problem oriented care plans Terminology Musculo-skeletal system review Musculo-skeletal examination
Week 5	Case studies Terminology Confusing words Communication skills Giving examination results to patients Reading comprehension (analyzing medical content)
Week 6	Pharmacy/Pharmacist Types of drugs and medicines Drug application Drug culture Effects of drugs (contextual vocabulary) Agreeing/disagreeing (proper ways to do it)
Week 7	Letter writing and communication Types of illnesses Case studies Culture and medicine The Blood system
Week 8	Diagnostic tools and investigations Using medical documents Nutrition and health Case studies The Digestive System
Week 9	Emergency care and First aid ER assessment People and places in the hospital The Nervous System
Week 10	Reading and understanding case histories Geriatric care Chronic conditions Case studies Respiratory System
Week 11	Surgery- preparation Surgery equipment/tools Pre Op/Post Op Prognosis The Lymphatic System
Week 12	Dentistry Dental examination Dental tools and equipment Diseases of the mouth Ear and Eye
Week 13	The Skin Describing shapes (in skin conditions) Using prepositions in describing patients' conditions
Week 14	Occupational and Physical Therapy (OT, PT) OT/PT treatment methods Pain management Case Studies The Endocrine System
Week 15	Psychiatric care Psychiatric conditions and symptoms Community health care Institutional health care
Week 16	Oncology Alternative health care Palliative health care Case Studies