Spanish for the Front Desk
Tue, 07/08/2008 - 4:02pm — suzanna
We really need some help to communicate with our Spanish speaking community when they check in at our froont desk. I speak a little spanish but three years of High School Spanish doesn't fit the bill. We are a Neurosurgery office and many of our Spanish speaking patients come with no friend or relative who can translate. It would be really good if we could get the basics needed at the front desk check-in and check-out.
Thanks, Suzanna
"Spanish for the front desk" podcast is published!
María wrote the dialogue for this podcast. Note the phrase constructions she uses for polite converstaion.
You'll also hear a lot of the subjunctive. I'll review this and other grammar points in a quiz coming out later this week.
If you want to practice more Spanish for the front desk, leave me some suggestions. Below I have started a list of phrases used by medical receptionists. Add your own phrases and I will publish a Phrase Review podcast on this topic.
And as discussed in the podcast. María invites your questions to her own section of the forum: Preguntas para Ma. Rebeca.
Spanish for Medical Receptionists
Thanks Suzanna for this great suggestion. María and I just finished a podcast covering greetings, good-byes, saying: thank you, you're welcome and I'm sorry. This should be a good starting point. But we will now work on some useful phrases for medical receptionists. This is a tough and very important job. It's the patients first impression of their care, so thanks for this excellent suggestion.
Any ideas out there? If anyone can think of some phrases for Medical Receptionists, please leave them here (in English).
A few ideas off the top of my head...
Which doctor/provider are you here to see?
What time is your appointment?
Please take a seat until you hear your name called.
Please fill out these forms while you wait.
Now I've never worked in "the front lines" at a medical office, so I'm sure some of you could do better at coming up with phrases. I also think María will be all over this idea, as she has mentioned to me how that first encounter with the Clinic/Hospital is so important.