In today’s world, healthcare personnel often operate in international settings in which English is the working language. Medical English provides medical students and physicians with the language and communication skills, technical terms and common idiomatic expressions that they need in order to perform their professional duties effectively. Written by a physician with considerable experience in intercultural communication and in teaching technical English in Medical Schools, this book can easily be understood by readers with a B2 level of proficiency. The multiplicity of challenges that foreign doctors face when they have to communicate in English and/or in a new cultural environment are addressed in a clear, informal style through a narrative approach that draws upon the author’s broad professional experience. Medical notions that are familiar to readers in their own language are presented in English in real-world, everyday settings; the terms used –many of which are accompanied by phonetic transcriptions–are briefly explained in writing and in over 200 figures, photos, drawing and cartoons. Although this book is written in American English, the British spelling is specified whenever it differs from the U.S. standard.

More technical definitions are included in separate Reference Lists, while In Detail boxes deal with specific issues that need further explanation. Medical English is composed of two sections, Practicing Medicine and Specialty Areas, each of which is supplemented by a Self-Evaluation Test.

• Practicing Medicine explains how to perform basic professional tasks in English. The first chapter, Cultural Issues, deals with how to overcome cultural barriers in order to work effectively in a multicultural environment. The following chapters cover issues of health and disease, hospital services, and routine professional tasks, such as interviewing patients, performing clinical examinations, writing up the patient’s history, requesting radiology and laboratory tests, and prescribing therapy. Finally, the British and American healthcare systems are reviewed.
• Specialty Areas deals with the English language used in the various medical and surgical specialties. These chapters are complemented by numerous Reference Lists and Anatomic Tables, and cover both technicial expressions and the more idiomatic terms that patients may use.

Carlo Pesce, MD PhD, is a Professor of Pathology at the University of Genoa. A diplomate in Anatomic Pathology of the American Board of Pathology, he has practiced medicine for several years in the U.S. and Africa, as well as in his native country, Italy. Since 2011, he has taught Medical English at the Genoa Medical School and at several partner Universities in Europe and Africa.

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