Learning a new language, especially English, is an important skill to display on a resumé. It shows that you are fully engaged in your job and that you know the stakes of knowing a language as important as English. Knowing how to speak English in such a wide industry (aka Healthcare, Medicine, Pharma…) is a huge advantage for anyone. On the one hand, this industry is full of conferences and research. They are almost every time in English. Knowing how to speak English will allow you to really understand your pairs and access more easily research papers, for example. It will also help you conduct a more in-depth conversation on any subject with any professional. 

Whether it be in Healthcare or Pharmacy, teamwork is essential in these kinds of jobs. There again, speaking English can quickly be an essential tool: you will be able to work with team mates all over the world or even master communication skills if you’re working into the marketing branch of this industry. 

Healthcare is probably one of the most common industries, everyone is in contact with someone working in this industry. Knowing how to speak English can also help you if you want to work abroad or if you meet patients from another country. Communicating with these patients in English is very important in order to give an accurate prescription and a diagnosis they will understand.

Now that you know why you should learn English and new vocabulary, let’s see how. Don’t be afraid, it is very simple to learn new vocabulary, especially if it is related to your job! 

Follow our steps and you will master any new word in no time:

Tip #1: Try to define the most common and important words.

If you want to stay specific to your job, identify the words you might want to use or hear everyday. These will give you a great list to start with. Keep reading and we will help by giving you a short list of words you should absolutely know!

Tip #2: Note this list somewhere easy for you to access.

If you have a favourite notebook this is great, you can also write your list in your agenda, on your phone, on a sticker… there are a lot of possibilities!

Just remember that this list can and should be modified as you learn but should not be too big to start with: a list of 15 to 20 words is a great amount to begin with. After you have mastered these words or at least half of them, you can write new words you would like to learn. Start small, it will be easier!

Tip #3: Spend a few minutes everyday memorizing these new words. 

Consistency is key here. You should be consistent and learn a few minutes every day, even for 5 minutes. Rather than just studying for one hour every two weeks.
Keep in mind that repetition is one of the keys to memorizing new information!

Tip #4: Start focusing on your strengths and weaknesses.

Which words were easy to remember? Which words were not? You will then be able to know how you learn and focus on your difficulties. This way, these difficulties will just morph into a thing of the past!

Tip #5: Make your learning process fun

Create flashcards or mini games to learn your vocabulary. Write the words you have learned on a piece of paper, cover them, memorize them and say them out loud. You made a mistake? You can’t remember one of them? Repeat the process! Do this until you master every word perfectly.
The Internet is a great place to find pictures to add to your flashcards, for example. Make your learning experience as fun as you can, add colours or nice pictures to your list.

These tips will help you keep motivated in the long-run!

It is also very important for you to know how you learn new things. 

Do you have a visual memory? Do you remember new information easily if you read it? If you hear it? We all learn things in a different way, so try to find what works best for you and you will master any new vocabulary in no time!

Here are 16 words you should absolutely know if you work (or want to) in healthcare!

a nurse - someone trained to take care of patients, usually sick or infirm. They can work in a hospital or any other medical structure.

a rail - a type of support to hold onto, like a bar (side rail or handrail)

a hoist - a mechanical lifting device used to move someone from one place or

position to another.
Standing hoists may be used to raise patients off the floor.

a sling - a device used to support a part of the body, either to keep it immobile or

as a suspensory device for mobilizing patients

crutches - a walking aid, comprised of a pair of stick-like supports, which reduces

weight load on one leg and transfers this to the upper body to aid ambulation

a wheelchair - a chair fitted with wheels used to facilitate mobility for people

unable to walk, which is manually operated, or power driven

sharps - generic medical term for any instruments that are sharp and could cause

injuries, such as syringes and blades

hazardous - something that can be dangerous or risky for someone else

a swab - a piece of absorbent material that is used for cleaning away material,

taking specimen samples or applying medication

to safeguard - to protect someone/something against risk or harm. Beware, it is a verb used a great deal in healthcare. It’s the combination of 2 words, namely ‘safe’, meaning free from risk of harm or damage, combined with ‘guard’, meaning ’protect against’.

sanitiser - disinfectant, antiseptic gel also containing bactericide

a face shield - a protective medical mask that covers the whole face

splatter - spray of droplets or liquid

a gown - protective clothing worn over the health-worker’s clothes

healthcare professional bodies - professional organisations that regulate health

practices and medical staff

On GlobalExam, you will be able to find our Business English program, a platform tailored just for your needs. 

What is Business English, exactly? It is a great training platform that helps you get any new professional skill you would need in English. It is divided in three different stages: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert. It is possible to start right away with a skill test in order to assess your level and begin your program the right way. 

We provide different programs and they all focus on different goals:

• Boost my career: a set of tailor-made situations, created to enable you to develop your skills within your profession  such as marketing, communication, human resources, sales, purchasing, CSM or management
• Boost my skills: a set of concrete and story-driven situations, organized around the same topic such as negotiation, write a professional email, manage a project, manage interculturality, recruitment, answer the phone, travelling in business, conducting a meeting or greeting a client
• Improve my industry skills: to access skills in English related to a particular industry and become a pro such as building construction, cyber security,tourism, …
• Boost your level: improving your level across the board with vocabulary list and grammar sheets

Our lessons and vocabulary sheets are here to completely immerse you in in-work situations: you will have access to 25 scenarios, 500 life work situations and of course, remote classes and video coaching with our teachers.

Every question and exercise is corrected by our native teachers in depth, which provides further understanding of what you are learning. 

Joining our Business English program will also allow you to get certified at the end of every program and get your own english resumé!

Our programs are very adapted to each individual and their needs, here’s a little peek at one of our Health and Medicine lessons:

In the beginning of every lesson you will find what it will be about and its objectives: “This lesson will show you what medical devices are used to ensure patient safety in hospitals and how you can know what is needed in different situations.

After this lesson, you will be able to:

- describe different types of patient safety devices

- ask questions to clarify information

- explain patient safety procedures

- use the passive voice to explain procedures”

You will be asked a series of questions, or asked to complete mini activities which will help you check you understood everything perfectly. Here’s one of them:

Question 1: Match the beginnings of the sentences with the endings:

Correction: Notice how the passive is formed when using modal verbs to express possible consequences, for example, ‘injuries can be caused …’. It is a good idea to learn how to use this form to explain types of risks clearly to staff and patients.

Each lesson comes with an audio file to help you train your oral comprehension skill. Each correction is also in-depth and detailed so you can easily assess if you’ve understood correctly.

At the end of every lesson, you will find a short summary of what you just learned as well as some tips on how to keep practicing your brand new skill along with fun facts and trivia about what you’ve learned.

Here’s one of them: “Now that you know how to talk about hospital safety equipment and patient safety procedures, take the opportunity to practice these new skills when talking to other members of staff and see how much you can remember without checking your notes! Remember, practice makes perfect!”

Question 2: What do you think the six international patient safety goals in hospitals are?

Training with us and our Business English program is also great if you want to improve your pronunciation and work with native speakers. Our teachers are all certified, qualified native speakers and are ready to help you with whatever you need. 

You will find two different ways to train your skills with video coaching: 

• Individual classes: they are 30min. long and they allow you to work on what you really want to see. Your teacher will prepare the lesson according to your needs, in other words, you choose your own lesson!

• Collective classes: they are 1h long and up to 6 people can join. It is a great way to learn from each other’s experiences and share what you learn with other people. Role-playing in work situations with other people is essential to practice and collective classes are a great means of doing it. 

See our available themes below.

Making a phone call - every wednesday 6pm

Planning a meeting - every Thursday 7pm

Giving a presentation - every Friday 6pm

Participating in video & conference calls - every Friday 7pm

This video coaching feature is a great way to go further and enrich what you’ve learned in your lessons. You will actually practice and put your new skills to the test, which is one of the best ways to learn a language. 

Practice makes perfect!

Not only will you enrich your knowledge, but you will also practice your oral skills. Knowing how to pronounce words is essential in English and our teachers will help you master speech delivery easily!

Our teachers follow your progress in every step of the way too You will get instant feedback along with tips on what you should improve.. or what was great! This is the best way to stay focused and be motivated in your learning process.