Day 98: Nursing Students Rewrite the Discharge
On their first rounds at the general hospital in Tehuacán, Puebla, the nursing student Tadeo (A) and a classmate of his (B) argue in front of their clinical instructor (C) over how to explain the discharge instructions to an older patient, Don ValentĂn (don is a title of respect).
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
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A
Maestra, ya está el plan de alta de don ValentĂn: tres pastillas, tres dibujitos y cero palabras en “-emia”.
Don ValentĂn's discharge plan is ready: three pills, three little drawings and not one word ending in “-emia.”
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B
Si bien lo tuyo es más rápido, con dibujitos no va a entender por qué la furosemida va en la mañana.
Your way may be quicker, but with little drawings he won't understand why the furosemide goes in the morning.
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A
Por más que le expliques la fisiologĂa del riñón, te va a decir que sĂ a todo. Hasta al camillero le dice “sĂ, señorita”.
However much you explain kidney physiology to him, he'll say yes to everything. He even says “yes, miss” to the orderly.
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C
El hecho de que asienta no significa que entienda, jĂłvenes. ÂżAlguno le preguntĂł si sabe leer?
The fact that he nods doesn't mean he understands, you two. Did either of you ask him whether he can read?
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B
No, maestra. Firmó el consentimiento con la huella, pero pensé que era por la venoclisis.
No. He signed the consent form with his thumbprint, but I thought that was because of the IV line.
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A
Ahà está: el que no lea bien es justo la razón de mis dibujitos. Sol para la mañana, luna para la noche.
There you go: the fact that he can't read well is exactly why I did the drawings. A sun for the morning, a moon for the night.
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C
ÂżY en quĂ© dibujo va la restricciĂłn de lĂquidos? En Tehuacán el agua mineral se toma como si no contara.
And which drawing does the fluid restriction go in? Here in Tehuacán people drink mineral water as if it didn't count.
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B
Viene en mi hoja: pesarse diario y regresar si sube dos kilos en tres dĂas. Cuatro páginas contra un reingreso.
It's on my sheet: weigh himself every day and come back if he puts on two kilos in three days. Four pages against a readmission.
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A
¿Cuatro páginas, para un señor que firma con la huella? A pesar de que te quedaron impecables, van a acabar envolviendo tortillas.
Four pages, for a man who signs with his thumbprint? Even though they came out spotless, they'll end up wrapping tortillas.
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C
Ni soles ni cuatro páginas. Aun cuando les salga perfecto el discurso, es él quien tiene que repetirles cómo se toma cada pastilla.
Neither suns nor four pages. Even if your speech comes out perfectly, he's the one who has to tell you back how he takes each pill.
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A
ÂżY si dice que la furosemida se la toma en la noche, para que no se le olvide?
And what if he tells us he takes the furosemide at night, so he doesn't forget it?
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C
PasarĂa la noche en el baño, y eso lo corrige un sol. Las cuatro páginas, para la hija, que es quien le sirve el Tehuacán.
He'd spend the night in the bathroom, and a sun fixes that. The four pages go to his daughter, who's the one who pours his Tehuacán mineral water.
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