Spanish speakers PLEASE help!

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 3, 2005

Hi all.. I'm a nursing student working as a Labor Coach (What an awesome job!). We get a large number of Spanish only speaking women (California central valley). I know some VERY Basic Spanish (like "my name is", "please", "thank you", "breathe", "push", "are you in pain" and that kind thing). I'm wondering if any one who is Spanish speaking could give me some help. I've tried to learn from CD's and that kind of thing, but I really don't need to ask a patient a question like where they're from, when they are in transition, and that's all that I'm getting from the disc's I've bought.
So.... I'm typing up an index card to carry in my scrubs and would like to have some more detailed phrases like "turn to your left/right side", "relax your bottom", "exhale and then take another breath quickly","hold your legs up", "are you going to breastfeed" (since we help with that too) and whatever else you might be able to think of. Since I'm not a native Spanish speaker pronunciation can be a little tricky so if the word is at all complicated if you could give me some kind of phonetic representation that would be awesome. (Like for empuje I wrote "m-poo-hey" next to the word). Thank you so much to everyone!

I will try to help:

Turn to your left side:

Por favor, mueve a la izquierda. (en la cama ---on the bed)

Pronounced: Por favor, moo-eh-veh ah lah eezkierda. (phonetic)

Turn to your right side:

Por favor, mueve a la derecha.

Pronounced: Por favor, moo-eh-veh ah lah day-ray-chah.

Are you going to breastfeed?

Va a comer por pecho su bebe?(literally means is your baby going to breastfeed?)

Pronounced: Vah ah komer por pay-cho soo bay-bay?

Are you going to bottle-feed?

Va a comer por botela su bebe? (is your baby going to bottle feed?)

Pronounced: Vah ah komer por bo-tay-lah soo bay-bay?

(

OR you can ask:( this is really better, in my opinion):

Como va a comer su bebe? How will your baby eat? Por pecho, por botela, las dos? (breast? Bottle? Both? ---many do both at first!)

Pronounced: Como vah ah komer soo bay-bay, por bo-tay-lah, por pay-cho, las dose?

Relax:

Por favor, relajese.

Pronounced: por favor, ray-lah-hay-say ----accent on "lah"

Relax your legs:

Por favor, relaje las piernas.Pronounced: por favor, ray-lah-hay las pee-er-nahs (accent on er)

Breathe slowly:

Por favor, respire mas despacio.Pronouced: Por favor, res-peer-eh mahs des-pah-see-oh. (accent on pah)

I have tons of phrases and coloquial terms I use, depending on whether the patient is from Mexico, Central or South America or Puerto Rico....but the basics are usually the same.

NOTE:

You must be respectful when addressing your Hispanic clients, using the word "usted" for "you" not Tu (which also means "you" but is very informal and used for children/close friends)! Use verb tenses that reflect the Usted tense with your Spanish patients. Very important.

Ask anything ---I will try to help. I can also recommend an excellent spiral-bound "flip book" that is pocket-sized that would prove useful and also has phonetic pronouciations for you. Let me know how else I can help. I feel very fortunate to be fairly fluent in Spanish---we are needing it more and more---except now when we get Spanish-only patients, they all call ME to care for them.

Have a good day.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 3, 2005

Here is the pocket medical Spanish guide I own:

Pocket Medical Spanish

Russel K. Dollinger

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=In0Ri5JAu6&isbn=0945585020&itm=1

It really DOES fit in your pocket, so no need for index cards. I would get it as soon as you can. It's great.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 3, 2005

Awesome Deb

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 3, 2005

wow great compliment coming from you Jess. (Jess is Puerto Rican)

ftr_bb_catchr · Dec 3, 2005

Thanks SO SO much.

I asked a (male) friend of mine, who speaks Spanish but is not hispanic, about how to ask about breatsfeeding.. he said something to the effect of (in Spanish) "Is the baby goin to eat from the tit?" I had to laugh.

I'll pick that book up. I have a flip chart thing. Speedy Spanich for Medical Personnel

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 3, 2005

Yep he was right...

Va a comer el bebe por pecho ?

literally means,

Is baby going to eat from the breast?

laurenD · Dec 3, 2005

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary by Glenn T. Rogers

They have it on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

I have this book. Not only is it a dictionary, but in the back of it, there is 30-40 pages of assessment questions and intervention statements. That's the only part I ever use. It's awesome! Things like "Turn to your right/left", "I need to check your blood sugar", "I need to give you a medicine for your high blood pressure" (just off the top of my head). It has full systems assessments translated. Very very useful. I would consider it pocket size as well: thin and probably 5X7 dimensions.

~Lauren

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Dec 4, 2005

I bought "Medical Spanish Made Incredibly Easy!" recently. Although I, like Deb, am pretty fluent, I figure I can always learn more that's of use on the job than the everyday conversational Spanish I use with some of the staff members. It's a good reference, although if you're having trouble with pronunciation, you might be better off with something more basic.

Some things that are helpful:

Vowels are always pronounced with a soft sound---a is "ah", e is "eh", i is "ee", o is "oh" but a little shorter (it's hard to describe), and u

is "oo".

Spanish also uses more letters than the English alphabet. There is "che" (the ch sound) "ll" (pronounced like a y[/i as in "you"]); the n with a little squiggly mark (the tilde) is pronounced "nyah"; and there is a double-r that requires rolling the tongue and has no real equivalent in English.

Some letters are also sort of interchangeable, like b and v. Both are pronounced like the "V" sound, and some Spanish speakers will write a "V" where a "B" would normally go. A d sort of glides off the tongue like the long "th" (as in the). J is pronounced like an H, and theH itself is silent. There are, of course, a few pronunciations that vary between regions........in Latin America, a c is just like it is in English---sometimes it's an s sound, and other times it's a k; however, in Spain it'll sound like a short "th" (or a lisp!).

Good luck to you in learning more about this beautiful language. :nurse:

futureTMA · Dec 5, 2005

There's also this. It's called "Spanish for Childbirth Professionals." It is pretty extensive as it goes through the whole labor process. It includes a CD for pronounciation, a binder of notes, and laminated note cards. It was created by a Spanish-speaking CBE. It seems a good value for $40.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 5, 2005

wow great compliment coming from you Jess. (Jess is Puerto Rican)

Seriously Deb, your Spanish rocks! :)

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 5, 2005

Thanks SO SO much.
I asked a (male) friend of mine, who speaks Spanish but is not hispanic, about how to ask about breatsfeeding.. he said something to the effect of (in Spanish) "Is the baby goin to eat from the tit?" I had to laugh.
I'll pick that book up. I have a flip chart thing. Speedy Spanich for Medical Personnel

Yes, in spanish when refering to breast as in for example breast cancer you would say "seno" Like breast cancer is "cancer del seno" pronounced (se-no). Other words for breast is (mama, teta, seno, pecho (this means chest in men or women also-depends how you use it in a sentence or refer to), or ubre. :)