The first chapter, which is entitled "Basic Information," introduces the reader to the Spanish alphabet, so that the reader may learn how to pronounce Spanish words, and to some basic expressions such as "Good morning" and "How are you?"

In subsequent chapters the reader learns the names for the parts of the body, some terms/phrases for admission into a hospital, some terms/phrases for an accident scene, and some terms/phrases for a pregnancy. These chapters are followed by three more which teach terms/phrases according to three hypothetical patients of varied ages. At the end of the book is what the writer called a word/expression finder,an English/Spanish and a Spanish/English dictionary.

However the reader should be aware that the terminology discussed is limited in its depth. A quick comparison of this book with _First Responder_ by David Schottke and others shows that terms such as "abdomen" and "anaphylactic shock" are not covered by William Harvey's book. Even so, as the front cover blurb said, this book should be very useful to people who have little or no skills in Spanish when speaking to Spanish speaking patients.


Just okay   March 7, 2001
 21 out of 35 found this review helpful

Reviewed by one of the professional Spanish-language interpreters at a major medical facility. Not organized very well; too confusing. There are better products, so this one is not recommended.


Excellent Self-Learning Resource for Health Care Providers   August 31, 2000
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

This book is not intended to be a quick reference guide - it's meant to be an instructional tool, and is a very good one. If you're a motivated learner and you have some time to devote to studying Spanish, this is a great way to start. I started off a few years ago using William Harvey's First Edition of this book, which was really helpful, but this updated version is even better. It addresses several different types of diagnoses, treatments, and procedures, and uses gender/age-specific scenarios to teach vocabulary and new tearms. Beside each new Spanish word, you get the phonetic pronunciation in English, which is very helpful to keep you from botching the pronunciation of Spanish words. The author goes the extra mile in giving you little "Notas" about Hispanic culture and how it impacts health care. This book has been incredibly helpful to me as a health care provider. I highly recommend it!


Medical Social Worker says, "Thank you!"   September 8, 2004
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This book is extremely practical for my interactions with spanish-speaking patients. I work at a hospital and we see a large number of Hispanic/Mexican-American individuals. This book has been IMMEDIATELY applicable and helps me to be more effective. Patients appreciate my obvious effort even though my pronunciation and grammer isn't perfect! Thank you to William Harvey for writing a book applicable to ALL types of healthcare professionals, including social workers.


Worth every penny!   April 5, 2006
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

My wife bought this book for me, and it was a Godsend. Chapter lessons are bite sized and arranged in logical/relational order; interpersonal phrases, cultural issues, admission, discharge, fundamental anatomy, hygiene issues, medication issue, etc.

In addition to these categories the book immediately teaches word pronunciation and basic sentence construction...in English sentence format. Perhaps this may sound backwards to a Spanish-speaking listener/patient; however, my message was immediately understood and acknowledged.

Bottom line, this book is an excellent jump off point for someone (like me) serving a high volume of Spanish-only speaking patients.