MediEnglish B2 - Inglés para enfermeros
Learn how to introduce yourself, identify roles, and use essential hospital phrases.
Módulo 4: Legal and Ethical Issues
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In this module, students will explore legal and ethical issues in healthcare. They will learn vocabulary related to patient rights, confidentiality, informed consent, medical errors, and ethical dilemmas. The grammar focus will be on the second conditional, which helps nurses discuss hypothetical situations, consequences, and professional responsibilities in a clear and professional way. This is essential for understanding risks and making ethical decisions in healthcare practice.
En este módulo, los estudiantes explorarán cuestiones legales y éticas en la atención sanitaria. Aprenderán vocabulario relacionado con derechos del paciente, confidencialidad, consentimiento informado, errores médicos y dilemas éticos. El enfoque gramatical será el segundo condicional, que ayuda a los enfermeros a hablar sobre situaciones hipotéticas, consecuencias y responsabilidades profesionales de manera clara y profesional. Esto es esencial para comprender los riesgos y tomar decisiones éticas en la práctica sanitaria.
Learning Materials
Learn vocabulary, phrases, and grammar
Medical Vocabulary
Learn essential medical terms and their usage.
Clinical Phrases
Common expressions used in healthcare settings
If a patient refused treatment, I would explain the risks carefully.
Si un paciente rechazara el tratamiento, yo explicaría los riesgos con cuidado.
I would report a medical error immediately if I noticed one.
Informaría un error médico de inmediato si notara uno.
If the patient did not give informed consent, we could not proceed with the procedure.
Si el paciente no diera su consentimiento informado, no podríamos continuar con el procedimiento.
Would you notify the doctor if you discovered a breach of confidentiality?
¿Notificarías al médico si descubrieras una violación de la confidencialidad?
If a colleague acted unethically, I would discuss it with the supervisor.
Si un colega actuara de manera poco ética, lo discutiría con el supervisor.
We would face legal consequences if we ignored patient rights.
Enfrentaríamos consecuencias legales si ignoráramos los derechos del paciente.
If I found negligence in patient care, I would follow the reporting procedure.
Si encontrara negligencia en la atención al paciente, seguiría el procedimiento de reporte.
I would protect patient privacy even if it was challenging.
Protegería la privacidad del paciente incluso si fuera difícil.
Would you take accountability if you made a mistake during a procedure?
¿Asumirías la responsabilidad si cometieras un error durante un procedimiento?
If a patient requested confidential information, I would explain why I could not share it.
Si un paciente solicitara información confidencial, explicaría por qué no podría compartirla.
I would follow ethical guidelines if I faced a difficult decision.
Seguiría las guías éticas si enfrentara una decisión difícil.
If informed consent was missing, we could not continue treatment safely.
Si faltara el consentimiento informado, no podríamos continuar el tratamiento de manera segura.
We would prevent malpractice if we followed all professional responsibilities.
Prevendríamos la mala praxis si cumpliéramos todas las responsabilidades profesionales.
If patient safety were compromised, I would take immediate action.
Si la seguridad del paciente se viera comprometida, tomaría medidas inmediatas.
Would you report suspected abuse if you observed it during your shift?
¿Informarías sobre abuso sospechoso si lo observaras durante tu turno?
Second conditional
What is and what is the use:
Que es y como se usa
The Second Conditional is a grammatical structure used to talk about hypothetical or unreal situations in the present or future. These situations are unlikely or imaginary, but they allow the speaker to discuss possible outcomes, consequences, or responses if something were different.
In nursing and healthcare, the Second Conditional is extremely useful because it helps professionals discuss what they would do in hypothetical legal or ethical scenarios, such as handling a medical error, respecting patient rights, or responding to an ethical dilemma. By using this structure, nurses can express careful, polite, and professional thinking about risks, responsibilities, and patient care, which is essential for ethical and legal communication in healthcare settings.
Key points:
- Talks about unreal or unlikely situations in the present/future.
- Often shows consequences or professional decisions in hypothetical contexts.
- Commonly uses “would” + base verb in the main clause.
- Frequently used to discuss patient safety, legal compliance, ethical practice, and other professional concerns in nursing.
- How to use (structure)
Form | Structure | Example with Nursing Vocabulary |
Affirmative | If + past simple, … would + base verb | If a patient refused treatment, I would explain the risks carefully. |
Negative | If + past simple, … would not / wouldn’t + base verb | If a nurse did not report a medical error, it would not protect patient safety. |
Question | Would + subject + base verb … if + past simple? | Would you follow ethical guidelines if a colleague acted unethically? |
If negative → would affirmative | If + past simple negative, … would + base verb | If a patient did not understand the consent form, I would explain it again. |
If affirmative → would negative | If + past simple affirmative, … would not / wouldn’t + base verb | If the nurse noticed malpractice, she would not ignore it. |
- Do not use (Common Errors)
- Using “will” instead of “would”:
❌ If a patient refused treatment, I will explain the risks.
✅ Correct: If a patient refused treatment, I would explain the risks. - Using present tense in the if-clause:
❌ If a nurse reports a medical error, they would be responsible.
✅ Correct: If a nurse reported a medical error, they would be responsible. - Confusing first and second conditional (real vs. unreal situations). The second conditional is hypothetical, not real or certain.
- Omitting “would” in the main clause:
❌ If patient consent was missing, we report the incident.
✅ Correct: If patient consent was missing, we would report the incident.
- Examples in Context (EN)
- If a nurse noticed negligence, she would follow the reporting procedure immediately.
- If patient privacy were compromised, we would take immediate action.
- If a doctor ignored the code of ethics, the hospital would face legal liability.
- If informed consent was not obtained, the procedure would be considered malpractice.
- Would you report a breach of confidentiality if you discovered confidential information was shared improperly?
- Traducción de Ejemplos en Contexto (ES)
- Si una enfermera notara negligencia, seguiría el procedimiento de reporte inmediatamente.
- Si la privacidad del paciente se viera comprometida, tomaríamos medidas inmediatas.
- Si un médico ignorara el código de ética, el hospital enfrentaría responsabilidad legal.
- Si no se obtuviera consentimiento informado, el procedimiento sería considerado mala praxis.
- ¿Informarías sobre una violación de la confidencialidad si descubrieras que se compartió información confidencial de manera incorrecta?
Dialogue:
Nurse A: If a colleague shared confidential information, what would you do?
Nurse B: I would report it immediately to maintain patient privacy.
Nurse A: Yes, if we did not follow the reporting procedure, we would face legal liability.
Nurse B: Absolutely. If we noticed negligence, we would take action right away.
Translate:
Enfermera A: Si un colega compartiera información confidencial, ¿qué harías?
Enfermera B: Yo lo informaría inmediatamente para mantener la privacidad del paciente.
Enfermera A: Sí, si no siguiéramos el procedimiento de reporte, enfrentaríamos responsabilidad legal.
Enfermera B: Absolutamente. Si notáramos negligencia, tomaríamos medidas de inmediato.
Key Vocabulary: Confidential information, patient privacy, reporting procedure, negligence, legal liability
Dialogue:
Nurse A: If a patient refused treatment, how would you handle the situation?
Nurse B: I would explain the risks and respect their decision.
Nurse A: And if the patient did not understand the consent form, we would clarify it.
Nurse B: Exactly. If we ignored ethical guidelines, we would compromise professional responsibility.
Translate:
Enfermera A: Si un paciente rechazara el tratamiento, ¿cómo manejarías la situación?
Enfermera B: Yo explicaría los riesgos y respetaría su decisión.
Enfermera A: Y si el paciente no entendiera el formulario de consentimiento, lo aclararíamos.
Enfermera B: Exacto. Si ignoráramos las guías éticas, comprometeríamos la responsabilidad profesional.
Key Vocabulary: Patient consent, informed consent, ethical guidelines, ethical dilemma, professional responsibility
Dialogue:
Nurse A: If you noticed a medical error, what would you do?
Nurse B: I would follow the reporting procedure immediately.
Nurse A: If the nurse did not report it, patient safety would be at risk.
Nurse B: True. If we followed ethical practice, we would prevent malpractice.
Translate:
- Enfermera A: Si notaras un error médico, ¿qué harías?
Enfermera B: Yo seguiría el procedimiento de reporte inmediatamente.
Enfermera A: Si la enfermera no lo reportara, la seguridad del paciente estaría en riesgo.
Enfermera B: Cierto. Si siguiéramos la práctica ética, preveniríamos la mala praxis.
Key Vocabulary: Medical error, reporting procedure, patient safety, ethical practice, malpractice
Dialogue:
Nurse A: If a patient gave false information, how would it affect care?
Nurse B: It would create a risk, so we would double-check all details.
Nurse A: And if we did not follow risk management guidelines, we would face legal consequences.
Nurse B: Yes. If ethical responsibility were ignored, professional conduct would be questioned.
Translate:
Enfermera A: Si un paciente diera información falsa, ¿cómo afectaría la atención?
Enfermera B: Crearía un riesgo, así que verificaríamos todos los detalles.
Enfermera A: Y si no siguiéramos las guías de gestión de riesgos, enfrentaríamos consecuencias legales.
Enfermera B: Sí. Si se ignorara la responsabilidad ética, se cuestionaría la conducta profesional.
Key Vocabulary: Risk management, patient information, legal consequences, ethical responsibility, professional conduct
Learning