#163 Different Types of Doctors in English

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

This episode is going to be interesting because we will talk about doctors in English. And I'll tell you about a surgery I had last week.

You'll also improve your English grammar without memorizing any boring rules.

Before I get started, remember to get the transcript at SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

This way, you listen and read at the same time if you find it necessary.

Let's start.

Today I would like to tell you a bit about my experience of having to undergo surgery for the first time. 

Although you probably didn’t notice my absence last week, I was in the hospital for a few days after having gallbladder surgery.

I always had difficulty eating some foods, and I didn't know why. Finally, after many tests, the doctor told me he had good news and bad news. I wanted to know good news first. The good news was that he had found the cause of my digestive problems. I had gallstones in my gallbladder. And the bad news was that I had to have my gallbladder removed altogether.

But I was looking forward to the surgery.  And since I wanted to avoid getting overly nervous before the procedure, I decided to concentrate on work. I doubled my workload before the surgery so that you wouldn't miss any of my weekly episodes.

And on the day of the surgical procedure, I packed a suitcase with all the things I thought I needed while in the hospital. It is always wise to be prepared. But in the end, I didn't need much of it because I spent most of the time sleeping. 

Now I’m happy to be back home.

The intervention was a success, and I feel great, I was even able to start working on a new episode. 

But enough about me, let's talk about the different types of doctors in English.

Let's start with the general practitioner. What’s a general practitioner?

If you have a health problem, you usually go to a general practitioner. For example, if you have a cold or a stomach ache, you see a general practitioner.

We also call this type of physician a family doctor.

What if you have a terrible toothache? Do you go to your family doctor? Of course not. In that case, you should make an appointment with a reputable dentist as soon as possible. 

I know many of you don’t like going to the dentist, but I have a visit every six months, and that helps to prevent major complications. 

So a dentist is a doctor who treats problems related to teeth and gums.

Well, what if you have a problem with your vision? What do you do? If you have a problem with your eyesight, an eye infection, or anything related to your eyes, you should see an optometrist. An optometrist is an eye doctor.

 

Get the transcript here: SpeakEnglishPodcast.com