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Unit-by-unit Spanish: where to start and what matters most
Twenty-four tracks, one map. Start with the four free tracks, then follow the unit you are actually on.
The Spanish on this page comes from the Signos phrase library, which has not been checked by a qualified reviewer yet. Vocabulary practice does not qualify you to interpret. When a conversation affects care, use a qualified medical interpreter.
Signos holds twenty-four tracks, from greetings to discharge teaching. No student studies all of them at once. The right order is the unit you are on, plus the free tracks that every unit shares.
Start with the four free tracks. They cover the moments every rotation shares: greeting a patient, handling an emergency, asking about pain, and naming body parts. Then add the tracks for your unit.
Start free: the four tracks every rotation shares
Greetings and Comfort (16 phrases) opens the relationship. Emergency Phrases (16 phrases) covers the moments when speed matters. Pain Assessment (20 phrases) covers the assessment every unit performs. Anatomy: Where It Hurts (34 phrases) gives you the body parts to point with. Together they are 86 free phrases, and they are enough to start.
«¿Cómo se siente?»
How do you feel?
Patient reply: «Me duele más que ayer.» It hurts more than yesterday.
Note: If the patient’s answer is unclear, do not guess or rely on a gesture you may have misunderstood. Get a qualified medical interpreter when the conversation affects care.
Drill Greetings & Comfort →«Pida ayuda, ahora.»
Call for help, now.
Note: Do not promise help or a return time unless it is realistic. Make sure the patient knows how to request help and follow unit procedure.
Drill Emergency Phrases →«¿Dónde le duele?»
Where does it hurt?
Patient reply: «Me duele aquí, en el pecho.» It hurts here, in my chest.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →Then follow your unit
On vitals and triage, add Vitals and Triage. On admission, add Admission Interview and Patient History. On cardiac, add Heart and Circulation. On respiratory, add Breathing and Lungs. On neuro, add Brain and Neuro Checks. On surgery, add Before and After Surgery. On diabetes, add Diabetes Care. On stomach, bowels, and bladder, add Stomach, Bowels and Bladder. On wounds, add Wounds and Skin. On mobility, add Mobility and Fall Safety. On food and meals, add Food, Meals and Restrictions. On conditions, add Conditions and Diagnoses. On family conversations, add Family and Communication. On hygiene, add Hygiene and Comfort. On mood, add Mind and Mood. On children, add Children and Parents. On pregnancy and postpartum, add Pregnancy and Postpartum. On medicines, add Medication Administration. On discharge, add Discharge Teaching. Each track is one unit's vocabulary, studied on its own terms.
How to use the map
Pick one track per rotation and drill it until the patient replies sound familiar. Then run an encounter, where the phrases arrive at patient speed and the boundary moments arrive with them. The library is free. The encounters beyond the Night Check sample are part of Signos+, at $3.99 a month.