Day 140: Night-Shift Nurse Interview in Xalapa
At a hospital in Xalapa, Elisa (A), a young nurse, is interviewed for a position on the intensive care night shift by Dr. Marcelo Landa (B), the head of the unit.
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
Buenas tardes, doctor. Le traje mi cédula profesional y la constancia de mis dos años en urgencias.
Good afternoon, Doctor. I've brought you my professional license and the certificate for my two years in the ER.
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B
Ya las revisé. Mejor dígame: si a medianoche la familia de un paciente grave se pone a gritarle, ¿usted qué hace?
I've already looked at them. Tell me this instead: if a critically ill patient's family starts shouting at you at midnight, what do you do?
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A
Bajo la voz, porque si yo también me pongo a gritar, ya perdimos todos. Luego los dejo desahogarse.
I lower my voice, because if I start shouting too, we've all lost. Then I let them get it off their chest.
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B
¿Y si no se calman? Aquí hemos tenido familiares que se echan a llorar, que empujan, que amenazan con demandarnos.
And if they don't calm down? We've had relatives here who burst into tears, who push, who threaten to sue us.
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A
En caso de que se pongan violentos, llamo a seguridad, pero a mi paciente no lo dejo solo ni un minuto.
If they get violent, I call security, but I don't leave my patient alone for a minute.
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B
Bien. Ahora, con franqueza: ¿alguna vez ha estado a punto de cometer un error grave con un medicamento?
Good. Now, frankly: have you ever been on the verge of making a serious mistake with a medication?
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A
Sí, en mi primer año estuve a punto de pasar potasio sin diluir. Desde entonces no administro nada sin doble verificación.
Yes, in my first year I was about to give potassium undiluted. Since then I never give anything without a double check.
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B
Casi nadie admite eso en una entrevista. ¿Podría empezar el lunes, a no ser que tenga que dar aviso en su trabajo?
Hardly anyone admits that in an interview. Could you start on Monday, unless you need to give notice at your job?
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A
Con gusto, doctor. Eso sí, la única que se va a poner a gritar es mi mamá, cuando sepa que voy a trabajar de noche.
Gladly, Doctor. But the only one who'll start shouting is my mom, when she finds out I'm going to work nights.
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