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Part A: spelling, numbers and the patient's words

The avoidable ways to lose marks in the notes.

12 minutes · A free lesson from Listening

In Part A you write what you hear, and most lost marks are avoidable: a word spelt wrongly, a number misheard, or the patient's everyday words "improved" into a medical term they never used.

What patients say, and what they mean

sickvomiting — or sometimes just nauseous; listen to the contextI was sick twice last night.
a water infectiona urinary tract infectionI think I've got another water infection.
sugardiabetesMy mum has sugar too.
pins and needlestinglingI get pins and needles in my fingers.
heartburna burning feeling in the chest from acid refluxThe heartburn's worse when I lie down.
short of breathbreathlessI'm short of breath on the stairs.
water tabletsdiureticsI take my water tablets in the morning.
blood thinnersanticoagulantsI'm on blood thinners for my heart.
the runsdiarrhoeaI've had the runs since Tuesday.
dizzy spellsepisodes of dizzinessThe dizzy spells come when I stand up.

Lesson quiz

Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.

Quick check: A patient says she has been "chewing ice cubes all the time". The note reads "craving ___". What do you write?

  1. ice cubes
  2. pagophagia
  3. iron deficiency
Show the answer

A: ice cubes — Write the patient's own words, not the medical name or the diagnosis behind them.

Quick check: How can you hear the difference between "fifteen" and "fifty"?

  1. Fifteen is always said more loudly
  2. You cannot: guess
  3. By the stress: fifTEEN, FIFty
Show the answer

C: By the stress: fifTEEN, FIFty — The same pattern separates thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty.

Quick check: Which spelling is correct?

  1. diarhoea
  2. diarrhoea
  3. diarreah
Show the answer

B: diarrhoea — The American spelling, diarrhea, is also accepted. A misspelt word is not.

Quick check: What does a patient mean by "water tablets"?

  1. Vitamins
  2. Painkillers
  3. Diuretics
Show the answer

C: Diuretics — Patients often use everyday names for their medicines.

Practise: Part A (a second consultation)
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