Common English Mistakes in Medical Reports by Spanish Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Spanish speakers from Spain when writing a Medical Report in English.

Mistake Example #1

Direct translations from Spanish ('It makes sense' vs. 'It has sense')

PThe patient is a male of 45 years oldwho comehas withad pain in the chest sincefor two days. He says that it hmakes sense to do more tests because he feels very worried about his health. The patient reports that he has taken medication, but it doehas not mhaked an effect.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Well done! I just made a few small changes to improve the flow and polish things up. "

The patient is a male of 45 years who has had pain in the chest for two days. He says that it makes sense to do more tests because he feels very worried about his health. The patient reports that he has taken medication, but it has not had an effect.

Patient is a male of 45 years old who comes with pain in the chest since two days. He says that it has sense to do more tests because he feels very worried about his health. The patient reports that he has taken medication, but it does not make effect.

Mistake Example #2

Misuse of present continuous ('I am having 30 years of experience' instead of 'I have 30 years of experience')

PThe patient ihas cominge to the clinic with symptoms of headache and dizziness. He issayings that he ihas havingd these symptoms for three days. I am recommending to performa blood test to rule out any infections.

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"I have addressed the use of tenses in this text. Otherwise, nice job! "

The patient has come to the clinic with symptoms of headache and dizziness. He says that he has had these symptoms for three days. I am recommending a blood test to rule out any infections.

Patient is coming to the clinic with symptoms of headache and dizziness. He is saying that he is having these symptoms for three days. I am recommending to perform a blood test to rule out any infections.

Mistake Example #3

Confusion between 'do' and 'make' ('I make a mistake' instead of 'I made a mistake')

PThe patient is a 45-year-old male who coame to the clinic with complaints of chest pain. He says that the pain does increase when he is doing physical activity and does not go away with rest. We recommend he make an appointment for further tests to determine the cause of his symptoms.

Text corrected by:
Vince, United States

"Very good! Just a couple of changes to make the verbs consistent."

The patient is a 45-year-old male who came to the clinic with complaints of chest pain. He says that the pain does increase when he is doing physical activity and does not go away with rest. We recommend he make an appointment for further tests to determine the cause of his symptoms.

Patient is a 45-year-old male who come to the clinic with complaints of chest pain. He say that the pain do increase when he is doing physical activity and do not go away with rest. We recommend he make an appointment for further tests to determine the cause of his symptoms.