Understanding and Using Active Verbs

Posted on Posted in Health Care

Giving Instructions on Medical Procedures: 

Health care practitioners who deal directly with patients are constantly called upon to give instructions. Ideally, you will use terms that the patient and/or the caregivers will understand. In many cases, you will need to use everyday speech instead of complicated technical terms.

Terms may have different meanings in different settings. In this exercise, match each verb below with the meaning it usually has in a medical setting.

1) administer a) put
2) preserve b) give (first aid, etc.)
3) assess c) go with
4) arrange d) recognize differences
5) ensure e) find out the facts about something
6) maintain f) reduce (make less)
7) control g) keep something from happening
8) apply h) regain health after illness
9) establish i) conclude; decide
10) accompany j) suppose; believe
11) assume k) ask for someone’s opinion or advice
12) consult l) believe something is true because of good evidence
13) determine m) save something from damage, loss or destruction
14) distinguish n) consider all the facts of a situation or problem, decide what the position is and what is likely to happen
15) induce o) make plans and preparations
16) minimize p) make certain
17) place q) support
18) prevent r) prevent something from becoming worse
19) recover s) put something on a surface or rub it into
20) suspect t) discover facts that show that something (e.g. cause of death) is true