Talking About Medication: lessons that help healthcare professionals practice discussing medication with patients in English. Each lesson covers key vocabulary, important patient education points, and speaking activities for explaining medication clearly and accurately.
Antibiotics
How antibiotics work, what they don't treat, why patients must finish the full course, and warning signs to watch for. Key vocabulary and patient counseling language.
vocabulary | discussion | reading | comprehension | worksheet
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Explaining a Prescription
How to read prescription shorthand (QD, BID, TID, pc, prn and more) and practice explaining two antibiotic prescriptions to a patient using natural English patterns.
prescription shorthand | useful language | speaking tasks | worksheet
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Giving Medication
Language for administering medication - confirming patient identity, explaining what the medication is for, and checking for allergies.
View lesson →Each lesson follows the same format and can be used for self-study or as a classroom lesson:
1. Vocabulary - review the key terms and check pronunciation before reading.
2. Warm-up - discuss the brainstorm and discussion questions with a partner or in groups.
3. Read - read the article and answer the comprehension questions.
4. Discuss - relay the key points of the article to a partner in your own words.
5. Speak - complete the speaking task, roleplaying the healthcare professional explaining medication to a patient.
Each Talking About Medication article is a two-part lesson covering a specific medication class from both a clinical and patient perspective:
Part 1 - The Medication (Clinical View): covers what the medication class is, how it works (mechanism of action), the different types within the class, and key points healthcare professionals need to know.
Part 2 - Information for the Patient: covers what the patient needs to know - how to take the medication correctly, what it does and does not treat, side effects to watch for, and when to contact a physician.
After completing both parts, the healthcare professional will be able to discuss the medication with colleagues using accurate clinical language and clearly explain the key points to a patient in accessible English.
