Medical Spanish: The Instant Survival Guide, 2d ed.

This book provides a useful Spanish guide for those providers directly serving the Hispanic population, as well as those having only intermittent contact with this group. The manual is virtually an "encyclopedia," offering examples in either a "question" or "instructional" format for medical disciplines functioning within a hospital or medical center environment. A list of likely responses to questions is also provided. The text is practical and is designed to elicit simple answers rather than lengthy responses. It is apparent that it was written and designed through observations and personal experiences. The Spanish is based on a Mexican dialect, having been written from a base in California. The usage is correct although basic, as it was intended to reach an audience of all educational levels.

The manual provides a brief but relevant introduction on the value of cultural knowledge in addition to language skills. It then proceeds to address language needs relating to each area of the medical system: emergency information, including police emergencies and other situations; medical information, categorized according to major specialties; patient information, including instructional dialogues and medical records; procedural explanations, detailing specific tests (eg, computer tomography scan); therapies; offices and records, detailing procedures; equipment and supplies, including general information and physical therapy equipment; other medical personnel, including dietitians, volunteers, and switchboard operators; and language necessities, including accentuation, diphthongs, and grammar.

This book is a general encyclopedia for all involved in the medical field. The section in therapies is brief, with the segment for physical therapy practitioners only three pages in length, citing basic commands and a neuromuscular examination. There is no response variety included in this section, and most of the statements are imperatives rather than statements that might elicit dialogue. Physical therapists may choose to refer to other therapy sections, such as "Occupational Therapy," to expand their options. For more in-depth conversations, such as "Conversational Phrases with Children," one would refer to the "Pediatrics" section, or to the "Orthopedics" section for such details as hand splints.

The book is organized in a clear, functional manner that allows versatility yet provides very specific and accurate dialogue. There is a relative paucity of medically oriented bilingual materials that provide a reference for those serving a Hispanic population. This book certainly serves as a reference and achieves the authors' purpose of creating a "survival guide" for useful conversational Spanish for those in the medical field.

Angela Easley, PT Regional Planning Group Fairport, NY