Day 48: The Dose Caught in Time
In a taquería in Puebla, after a thirty-hour shift at an IMSS hospital, Esteban (A), a medical resident, talks over tacos árabes with his friend Edgar (B), a fellow resident.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
-
A
Ni hambre tengo. Anoche indiqué diez veces la dosis de insulina, y si no es por Irma, la paciente no amanece.
I'm not even hungry. Last night I prescribed ten times the dose of insulin, and if it hadn't been for Irma, the patient wouldn't have lived to see the morning.
-
B
Pues me como los tuyos. A ver, desde el principio: ¿a qué hora llegó y qué traía?
Then I'll eat yours. OK, from the beginning: what time did she come in, and what did she have?
-
A
Hecho el diagnóstico de cetoacidosis, como a las tres, calculé 0.1 por kilo: setenta kilos, siete unidades por hora. Y escribí setenta.
Once I'd diagnosed ketoacidosis, at about three, I worked out 0.1 per kilo: seventy kilos, seven units an hour. And I wrote seventy.
-
B
¿Y el potasio? Porque si arrancaste la insulina sin checarlo, eso ya no es cansancio, es no saber.
And the potassium? Because if you started the insulin without checking it, that's not tiredness anymore, that's not knowing.
-
A
Fue lo primero que pedí, y venía en 3.1. Lo repuse y empecé la insulina hasta que pasó de 3.3.
It was the first thing I ordered, and it came back at 3.1. I replaced it and didn't start the insulin until it was over 3.3.
-
B
O sea, razonaste bien y te falló la mano, a las veinte horas de guardia. Eso es un lapsus, no ignorancia.
So your reasoning was sound and your hand slipped, twenty hours into a shift. That's a lapse, not ignorance.
-
A
Llegando a la bomba, Irma leyó la indicación dos veces y me la regresó sin decir nada.
When she got to the pump, Irma read the order twice and handed it back to me without a word.
-
B
Para eso revisan las enfermeras, güey. En este hospital no hay nadie que no haya escrito un cero de más.
That's what nurses check for, dude. There isn't anyone in this hospital who hasn't written an extra zero.
-
A
¿Y ahora qué hago? ¿Me hago el loco o voy con el jefe de residentes?
So what do I do now? Pretend nothing happened, or go to the chief resident?
-
B
Lo reportas como cuasifalla, y no te mortifiques: es para que pongan doble verificación, no para castigarte. Y a Irma le llevas algo.
You report it as a near miss, and stop beating yourself up: it's so they bring in double-checking, not to punish you. And you take Irma something.
-
A
Un tres leches, y que me revise la receta, no vaya a ser que lleve diez veces el azúcar.
A tres leches cake, and she can check the recipe for me, in case it's got ten times the sugar.
Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 49: A Menu Written Entirely in Puns
If this free course has helped you in your Spanish journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.