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English For Nursing Topic 13 Explaining Medication
English For Nursing Topic 13 Explaining Medication
English For Nursing Topic 13 Explaining Medication
Topic 13
EXPLAINING MEDICATION
Instructional objective
The students are expected to be able:
1. to pronunce well vocabularies relating to medicines, and
2. to act out the practice and therapeutic communication of explaining doctor’s
prescription and instructional labels.
Reading
Direction. Read the nursing note below and get some useful informations regarding explaining
medications. Then, answer the following questions.
NURSING NOTE
According to the American Medical Association, one of the reasons patients don’t
take their medication is due to a lack of understanding. This means they are not
reaching positive health outcomes because they may not understand the how’s and
the why’s of nurse’s orders.
Questions:
1. Why do patients not take their medication?
2. Why is it important to explain medications to patients?
3. How to explain a medication?
1
Related Vocabularies
Direction. The followings are the vocabularies related to medicines. Study the meaning and the
example in a sentence. Found and practice the proper pronunciation.
Word Meaning Example in a sentence
Drug (n) A medicine or other substance A new drug aimed at sufferers
which has a physiological effect from Parkinson’s disease.
when ingested or otherwise
introduced into the body
Capsule (n) A small container which has a Take these capsules three
measured amount of medicine times a day.
inside and which dissolves
when you swallow it
Pill (syn. Tablet) A small falt round piece of Here are some pills you are to
(n) medicine that you swallow take one of every eight hours.
without chewing it
Drops (n) A liquid medicine which is given Eye-drops are the most
in the form of globules common medication for
treating infection in the eye.
2
Transdermal (adj) Applied to the skin for Nicotine patches are the most
absorption into the blood common transdermal patches
stream in the US.
Topical (adj) Local, applied externally to a Topical anesthetics are used
specific part of the body to relieve pain from sunburn,
burns and insect bites.
Dietary A product containing More and more people are
supplement (np) ingredients with nutritional taking dietary supplements to
value, designed to compensate ensure that they meet the
for a lack of this ingredient in a recommended daily allowance
person’s diet of vitamins and minerals.
Active ingredients The chemically active part of a Benadryl’s active ingredient is
(np) drug diphenhydramine.
3
ETT (Endotracheal Tube)
Eye
Ear
RECT or PR (Rectum or Per Rectum)
VAG or PV (Vaginally or Per Vagina)
Nose: nasally
NGT (Nasogastric Tube)
PEG (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastronomy)
Useful Expressions
Direction. Study the communication procedure and the useful expressions of explaining medications to
patients.
A. Explaining what you are going to do
I am here to ....
I am going to ....
It is time for me to ....
I need to ....
I just want to ....
I would like to .... I’d like to explain your medication
B. Assessment
Are you allergic to ...? Are you allergic to aspirin?
C. Giving instructions
Please take this .......... Please take this one tablet three times
a day every eight hours before meal.
Please take this syrup one spoonful
three times a day after meal.
Here are ......... Here are some pills you are to take
one of every eight hours.
4
F. Instructing patients what to do if negative side effects appear
G. Giving caution
Take these ......... Take these antibiotics all up.
Don’t take this ......... Don’t take this more than three
times in 24 hours.
Don’t use it if ......... Don’t use it if it makes a skin rash.
Discontinue if ......... Discontinue if an adverse reaction
occurs.
In case ......... give you .........., In case the tablets give you
please ......... indigestion, please take them after
meals.
Listening Exercise
Direction. Accomplish the following conversation by listening to the audio file on UFLearn. Then, act out
the dialogue.
(The conversations were taken from English for Professional Nurses 1 written by Leo A.
Pamudya.)
Nursing Communication Practice
5
Direction. Work in pair. Write a nurse-patient conversation of explaining medications. Submit your
conversation scenario on UFLearn. Then, practice the conversation together. You are not allowed to
read aloud the scenario.