The Vocabulary Show: At the doctor's 👩‍⚕️🩺💉💊⚕️ Learn 26 English words and phrases in 10 minutes! 🏪

Are you sick and tired

of not being able to confidently and comfortably express yourself?

Then stick around, because these words, phrases and expressions

are exactly what the doctor ordered.

I'm Dylan, this is BBC Learning English,

and let us give your English vocabulary a shot in the arm

as we teach you the vocabulary of going to the doctor's surgery,

describing your symptoms,

understanding your diagnosis and treatment plan,

as well as picking up your medicine from the pharmacy.

In fact, you'll have all the words, phrases and expressions you need

for the next time you are feeling under the weather.

If you are 'under the weather', you feel a little bit sick.

Maybe you have a headache, maybe a little bit of a bad stomach,

but you are not feeling 100%.

We can use 'under the weather' with 'to be',

so that means using 'is' or 'are'.

For example: 'Josh is under the weather at the moment.'

Or we can say that someone 'feels under the weather'.

In the UK, if you are feeling a little bit under the weather,

the first place you would go is the doctor's surgery.

This is where doctors see and treat patients

for routine or everyday health problems, sicknesses, illnesses, ailments.

If you are sick, but you don't need urgent medical attention,

then this is the first place you would go.

Now, I know this will drive some of you crazy,

but this is not where we go for urgent medical operations.

This is not where surgery happens.

I know, I know that English can be a little bit troublesome in this way,

but the doctor's surgery is not for surgery,

it is for routine, everyday health appointments.

Very commonly, you will hear this called as your 'GP's surgery'

or possibly just your 'GP's'.

'GP' is an abbreviation meaning 'general practitioner'

and this is what, in the UK, we call your local or family doctor.

When you enter the GP's office,

the first person who will greet you will likely be the receptionist.

This is the person who greets patients or visitors.

They will take your details, some of your symptoms,

and they will arrange your appointment with the doctor.

The receptionist might ask you to take a seat and wait for a little while

and what do we call this area where patients wait for their appointments?

Yes, we call it the 'waiting room'.

But, hopefully, you don't spend too much time in the waiting room

before it is time to see your doctor.

The doctor, or GP, will invite you in and the first thing they will likely ask you

is for you to describe your symptoms.

Your 'symptoms' are the feelings in your body

which show injury or illness or discomfort.

Some common terms which you might find useful to describe to your doctor

include 'fever' and this is when you have a higher than normal body temperature.

You might have a 'cough'.

Or maybe you have a 'headache'

and this is when you feel a pain in your head.

Or it could be a 'migraine',

which is a word we use to describe a very serious headache.

Do you have a sore throat?

A 'sore throat' is when you have a pain in your throat

and maybe it's difficult to speak or to swallow.

What about a runny nose?

This is when you have fluid — mucus — which runs down from your nose

and you need to blow your nose or to wipe your nose quite frequently.

It can be very frustrating.

Or possibly, you have a touch of 'fatigue'.

This is an extreme tiredness.

It is more than just being tired after a long day.

It is a deep and long tiredness

that we use to talk about slightly longer periods of time.

A less intense version of this is feeling run down.

If you are 'feeling run down',

it means that you are lacking energy

or you are frequently tired throughout the day.

For instance: 'Kalle's feeling run down, as he hasn't slept well all week.'

After you've described your symptoms,

the doctor might give you a physical examination

or a series of small tests.

Here are some vocabulary items that you might encounter during this procedure.

OK, so you've described your symptoms

and now your doctor is going to give you their diagnosis.

'Diagnosis' is the identification of a disease, sickness or illness by a doctor.

For example: 'The doctor's diagnosis was that Ivana had an ear infection.'

Alternatively, a diagnosis can involve

the identification of the causes of an illness.

While 'diagnosis' is the noun, the verb 'diagnose' is also commonly used

and also means 'to identify an illness or disease'.

We can diagnose a person with an illness.

Or we can directly diagnose the illness itself.

To help with a diagnosis, your doctor might send you for some tests.

One of the most common medical tests s a blood test.

This is where a small sample of your blood is taken

to check for underlying health issues.

If you have any problems with your bones, then you might get an X-ray.

This is a medical technique that uses radiation to see the inside of a body

and particularly to look at bones and the skeleton.

If you are pregnant or you have any problems with your internal organs

then you might get an ultrasound.

This is a medical test

that uses soundwaves to create images of the inside of your body.

After you've been correctly diagnosed,

you're going to want the right course of treatment.

'Treatment' is the medical care you are given

to heal or cure an illness.

If you need to receive multiple treatments over an extended period of time,

we call this a course of treatment.

This might include medical procedures, therapies, surgery or more.

For example: 'The doctor prescribed a two-week course of treatment for her back pain.'

Once your GP has assessed your condition, they might give you some medicine.

This is the time where they will write you a prescription.

This is a written instruction by a doctor

that authorises you to be given certain medicine.

It was traditionally written on paper, but now can be in digital format,

and this allows your local pharmacy to give you a particular medicine.

For example: 'The doctor gave me a prescription for some antibiotics.'

'Prescription' is the noun and 'prescribe' is the verb.

With your prescription and by following doctor's orders,

you should be 'back on your feet' in no time.

This means that you have recovered from your illness,

you are feeling fine and you are able to do normal activities once more.

For example: 'Take your medicine and you'll be back on your feet before you know it.'

But what happens if your doctor doesn't know

how to fix or solve or cure the problem?

They might give you a referral.

This is when they recommend you go and see a specialist

who can provide more expertise or targeted care.

The verb form of 'referral' is 'refer'. For example: 'The doctor referred her to a psychiatrist.'

OK, I hope you kept your prescription from earlier,

because now we're going to the pharmacy to collect our medicine.

We've mentioned pharmacies a few times today already

and this is a shop or store that sells prescription medicines,

or other healthcare products.

In the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and a few other countries,

an alternative name for a pharmacy is a 'chemist's',

while if you are in North America, in the USA or Canada,

you are more likely to hear them call it a 'drugstore'.

OK, well done, everybody.

We have been to see the doctor, we've described our symptoms,

we've had our diagnosis, we've got a prescription

and we've been to the pharmacy.

We'll be 'fit as a fiddle' before you know it.

This is an idiomatic expression we use

to describe someone who is very fit and has lots and lots of energy.

We often, but not always, add 'as' before it.

For instance: 'Priyanka is 82 years old, but she's still as fit as a fiddle.'

OK, that's us done for now, so keep practising these words and expressions

so that you are ready for any future trips to the doctor's that you may need.

You can find all of today's words scrolling down the side here,

so be sure to study them, learn them

and, of course, ask us any questions that you may have

in the comments section below

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Stay healthy and take care. Bye!