Professional English for Nurses (3cr)

Objectives

The student
- is capable of asking, when conducting a patient interview, relevant questions relating to the patient’s previous health;
- can inform patients about the most common nursing practices, procedures and ward routines;
- can communicate in English as part of a multi-professional care team;
- understands and can use articles and texts in the field;
- can further develop his/her English skills in the field by effectively using dictionaries and other language learning tools

Content

- patient interview
- guidance and instruction sessions prior to and during examinations
- relevant terminology in the field
- relevant terminology in anatomy
- research reports
- medical terminology

Prerequisites

Level: Upper secondary school studies or equivalent skills. Common European Framework for Languages Level B2.1

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The student
- can communicate in familiar, simple and routine situations in a manner that is mostly understandable
Guidance Skills:
The student
- can provide patients/clients with simple oral and written instructions
- can ask patients/clients basic questions regarding their lifestyle, as well as previous and current health status
- can employ basic nursing and health care terminology as required by the situation (e.g. obtaining a consent, giving treatment, giving instructions, referring to further care)
Professional Data Acquisition:
- can search for information in scientific publications and other professional sources but has problems in interpreting and utilizing it
- understands the main points in relatively easy nursing-related texts when consulting a dictionary
Linguistic Skills:
- can communicate in English but has problems with grammar and style
- manages simple conversations provided that the other person talks slowly and clearly, and sometimes repeats the information
- responds to questions in discussions, but pauses, mistakes and reformulations occur
Additional Information:
- understands the significance of knowing professional English, and works purposefully to gain linguistic competence in one’s special field
- is aware of some ways to further develop one’s professional language skills and language learning skills by utilizing different tools and strategies
- makes progress in the course, based on one’s individual level and linguistic needs

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The student
- communicates clearly in multi-professional and multi-cultural interaction situations (verbal and written reports, documentation)
Guidance Skills:
The student
- can provide patients/clients with individual instructions in the most common patient guidance situations (e.g. home care instructions)
- can conduct a detailed health interview, asking further questions when needed
- can appropriately document the information obtained, as required by the situation (providing treatment, service, or further care)
- can successfully respond to the questions asked by patients/clients
- can employ and utilize relevant nursing and health care terminology
Professional Data Acquisition:
The student
- can search information in scientific publications and other professional sources to promote one’s professional growth
- can critically assess the references
- can apply and utilize most of the information obtained
Linguistic Skills:
The student
- almost invariably communicates fairly effortlessly, and in a way appropriate to the situation
- discusses field-specific topics fairly fluently
- responds to questions in discussions fairly successfully
- can pronounce fairly clearly and effortlessly
- employs grammatical structures fairly successfully, and self-corrects potential errors if causing misunderstandings
- can re-formulate one’s sentences if and when needed
- understands and employs field-specific terminology fairly accurately
- can utilize various resources and dictionaries
- expresses oneself and conveys the message to the reader/listener fairly idiomatically without misunderstandings (H4)
- conveys the information to the reader/listener understandably without misunderstandings, but somewhat non-idiomatically, at times with features from the mother tongue (H3)
Additional Information:
- works in an active and self-directed manner to improve one’s special field English, based on one’s level, linguistic needs and personal interests

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student
- communicates successfully even in demanding multi-professional and multi-cultural interaction situations (e.g. oral and written reports, documentation, potential extra-curricular activities, such as projects or international collaboration)
Guidance Skills:
The student
- interviews and instructs patients/clients successfully adapting to the interaction situation, challenging and unexpected situations included
- employs and utilizes specific terminology and field-specific concepts
- speaks fluently and idiomatically
Professional Data Acquisition:
The student
- can search for information in scientific publications and other professional sources, interprets it, and utilizes it with ease to promote one’s professional growth
- can critically assess the references
- can apply and utilize the information obtained
Linguistic Skills:
The student
- communicates effortlessly, almost flawlessly, and in a way appropriate to the situation
- discusses field-specific topics fluently
- responds to questions in discussions appropriately and without delay
- can pronounce clearly and effortlessly
- employs grammatical structures almost flawlessly, and self-corrects potential errors
- re-formulates one’s sentences if and when needed
- understands and employs field-specific terminology accurately
- can utilize a vast variety of resources and dictionaries
- expresses oneself fluently and conveys the message to the reader/listener idiomatically without misunderstandings
Additional Information:
- works in an active and self-directed manner to further improve and maintain one’s special field English, based on one’s level, linguistic needs and personal interests