Professional healthcare communication should be clear, respectful, accurate, and appropriate to your role.

When You Do Not Understand an Instruction

Use direct professional language:

• “Could you repeat that, please?”
• “Can you clarify what you would like me to do?”
• “Let me repeat that back to make sure I understood.”
• “Which task should I complete first?”

When You Report an Observation

Keep your report focused:

What happened → What you observed → What you did → Who you notified

Describe what you actually saw, heard, measured, or did. Do not present a guess as a fact.

When You Speak With a Patient

Use language that is:

• clear
• respectful
• appropriate to your role
• easy to understand
• free of unnecessary jargon

If a concern is outside your role, training, or authority, communicate it through the appropriate supervisor or licensed healthcare professional.

5. Build Medical Terminology One Word at a Time

Medical terminology becomes easier to understand when you learn how words are built.

Look for:

• Prefix — a word part at the beginning that may change the meaning
• Root — the main word part carrying the central meaning
• Suffix — a word part at the end that may describe a condition, procedure, specialty, or action

When You Meet an Unfamiliar Term

1. Look for a word root you recognize.
2. Identify the prefix, if there is one.
3. Identify the suffix.
4. Combine the word-part meanings.
5. Confirm the definition using an approved learning source.
6. Practice saying the word aloud.
7. Use the term in a healthcare-related sentence.

Create a Simple Terminology Record

For each new term, write:

• Term
• Pronunciation
• Meaning
• Prefix / root / suffix
• Plain-language explanation
• Example of how the term may be used

Review the same terms across several short sessions instead of relying on one long study period.

6. Turn Mistakes Into a Study Plan

A missed question can show you exactly what to review next.

Instead of only checking whether an answer was right or wrong, keep a short missed-question log.

For each missed question, record:

• Topic: What subject was being tested?
• My answer: What did I choose or believe?
• Correct concept: What should I understand instead?
• Why I missed it: Did I forget a fact, misunderstand a term, rush, or misread the question?
• Next review: When will I practice this topic again?

After several practice sessions, look for patterns.

If the same topic appears repeatedly in your missed-question log, make that topic your next study priority.

The purpose of practice is not only to count correct answers. It is to identify what you understand and what still needs work.

7. English at Work — Language Support for Healthcare

Healthcare workers often need to understand medical terminology, workplace instructions, patient language, and professional communication at the same time.

AZ SkillCare’s English at Work program is designed for bilingual healthcare learners and workers who want to strengthen healthcare English, pronunciation, listening comprehension, and workplace communication.

Current language pathways include:

• Spanish ↔ English
• Haitian Creole ↔ English

English at Work is healthcare-language and workplace-communication training. It does not independently credential a student as a certified medical interpreter or translator.

Explore English at Work