At the Chemist’s

Chemist's shop (also called a pharmacy in Great Britain or a drug store in the USA) is an institution of health service. It supplies the population with medicines and medical things. It is a place where a wide variety of articles is sold and prescription can be made; drugs are composed, dispensed, stored and sold. They are differentiated into municipal, public and private ones. An ordinary chemist's shop has a chemist's department, a prescription one, proper working rooms and a hall for visitors. All medicines are kept in drug cabinets, open shelves and refrigerators there.

At the chemist's department one buys drugs ready to use, dif­ferent things for medical care and medi­cal herbs.

Poisonous, drastic, narcotic and psychotro­pic drugs are sold by prescription only at the prescription department. These drugs are potent and can be dangerous if taken in an overdose. Therefore, their use is strictly controlled.

In Great Britain all the drugs are legally divided into three groups: General Sales List (GSL, i.e. drugs for general sale); pharmacy medicines (i.e. drugs which are sold without prescription, but under the pharmacist’s control); prescription only medicines (POM, i.e. drugs sold by prescription only).

All containers of dispensed medicines should be clearly labelled with the following particulars: name of the patient, name of the medi­cine, correct dosage instructions, date of dispensing, expiry date, warnings or contradictions, name and address of the pharmacy.

The pharmacist instructs the patient about: the necessity to follow the prescribed directions carefully; the dangers of overdosage; the problems resulting from an inadequate dosage; the expected side effects of the drug; the proper storage of the drug, etc.

It’s interesting to compare the following fact: in Ukraine the prescription is usually written out by a physician, but in Great Britain and the USA a patient can receive the prescription form a nurse, a dentist, and even from a pharmacist. Depending on medical specialty of the prescriber, the prescriptions differ in colour. But there is a limited number of medications that nurses or dentists may write out. There are also private prescriptions that only a physician has the right to prescribe.

The structure of a complete prescription includes six essential parts: the pa­tient's name, the superscription, the inscription (the body of the prescription), the subscription, the signature and the prescriber's name.

In continental Europe, prescriptions are written out entirely in Latin abbreviations. The only exception is the signature which contains directions to the patients. That’s why European medical schools require up to two years of Latin as part of the curriculum for medical doctors and pharmacists.

In Great Britain all prescriptions are written out in the English language only. They don’t use any Latin abbreviations to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding which might lead to serious consequences. If they do use any Latin abbreviations they are quite wide-spread and easy to read (such as p.o., a.m., p.m., p.c., o.d., nocte and so on).

The realization of medicines is promoted by presenting the license given by the State Department of Quality and Safety Control and Production of Medicines and Medical articles.

Exercise 5. Answer the questions:

1. What is a chemist's shop?

2. What are the kinds of chemist's shops?

3. What departments are there at every chemist’s?

4. Where are all the drugs kept at the chemist's?

5. What does one buy at the chemist’s and prescription department?

6. Why are some drugs sold by prescription only?

7. What is the classification of drugs in Great Britain?

8. What are the necessary particulars on the label?

9. Who has the right to write out prescriptions in Ukraine? and in GB and the USA?

10. What does the complete prescription consist of?

11. What language is used for prescriptions?

12. How is the realization of medicines promoted?

Exercise 7. a) Read the text opening the brackets. Translate it:

The structure of a complete prescription (to include) six essential parts: the pa­tient's name, the superscription, the inscription, the subscription, the signature and the prescriber's name.

The superscription (to be) the tradi­tional symbol “Rx”. It always (to appear) at the beginning of the pre­scription. “Rx” (to represent) the contraction of the Latin verb "recipe" which (to mean) “to take”. In Continental Europe they (to use) the symbol “Rp”. It (to be) the analogus of the English “Rx”.

Then (to come) inscription. It (to be) the body of the prescription. It (to con­tain) the ingredients and quantities of each.

The subscription always (to follow) the inscription and (to contain) the writer's instructions to the pharmacist.

The signature (to consist) of the di­rections for the patient. The pharmacist (to place) this information the label of the container in which the medication is dispensed.

The prescriber's name (to be) the part of the prescription that (to guarantee) its authenticity.

b) Place the parts of the prescription in the correct order and read it. Name each part:

1. For pain, one pill four times a day by mouth

2. Dr Thomas Hood

3. Rx

4. Sevredol, sixty x twenty-milligramme tablets

5. two packages

6. Patient Robert Smith

Exercise 8. Replace the words in bold type with their equivalents from the texts above:

1. Any medicine should be taken according to the prescription.

2. A chemist’s provides people with medicines.

3. The body of the prescription includes the ingredients of a drug.

4. The drugs are kept in drug cabinets.

5. An overdosage leads to bad results.

6. Toxic drugs are sold by prescription only.

7. The working life of any medicine is on its label.

8. Some additional effects appear when taking these pills.

9. The course of studies at European medical schools requires 2 years of Latin.

10. To escape double meaning the British don’t use Latin abbreviations.

Exercise 9. Insert the preposition where necessary:

1. Morphine is sold … prescription only.

2. You can find this drug … the chemist’s over there.

3. Yesterday his doctor wrote … a prescription to him.

4. The treatment will last … three weeks.

5. Overdosage leads … serious consequences.

6. I was … a sick-leave last year.

7. I keep all the medicines … a small drug cabinet.

8. This procedure consists … listening … the patient’s heart and lungs.

9. Depending … the weather, we either go … the polyclinic or call … a doctor.

10. World Health Organisation supplies … people … the information about epidemics.

Exercise 10. Put questions to the underlined words:

1. Chemist’s shop is also called a pharmacy or a drug store.

2. A chemist’s supplies population with medicines.

3. There are two departments at any chemist’s.

4. Narcotic drugs are sold by prescription only.

5. The pharmacist instructed the patient about the medication’s side effects.

6. In Britain they write out prescriptions in English only.

7. The prescriber's name guaranteed its authenticity.

8. The use of potent drugs is strictly controlled.

9. The physician prescribed him mild laxatives.

10. Latin is the language of prescriptions.

Exercise 11. Re-write sentences inserting the necessary form of the irregular verbs:

1. Some days ago I ... a recommendation letter to the Edinburg Medical College.

2. Dr Drew ... the conference on the cardiac diseases last month.

3. Yesterday before going to bed the patient ... three pills.

4. The nurse ... all the administered injections at 6 a.m.

5. The operation on appendicitis ... half an hour ago.

6. A week ago I ... a high fever, so I ... up my district doctor.

7. He ... his studies at the university when he ... a fourth-year student.

8. The baby ... well all night.

9. She ... a cold two months ago.

10. They ... attention to the doctor’s administration.

Exercise12. Make up 3-4 special questions to any 5 sentences from Ex. 11:

e.g. The baby slept well all night.

Who slept well all night?

How did the baby sleep all night?

When did the baby sleep well?

Exercise 13. Some diseases have informal names. Match the formal and informal names:

Exercise 14. Complete the dialogues between patients and doctors by writing in the informal names of the diseases:

# 1

- What seems to be the problem?

- My eyes and nose are running all the time. I feel terrible.

- When did this begin?

- At the beginning of July.

- It’s probably just ______________________________ .

# 2

- How are you today?

- Oh, not well. I’ve got cough and chills.

- Do you have a fever?

- Yes, I do.

- It’s the onset of __________________ .

# 3

- What can I do for you?

- The twins have red spots all over their bodies.

- Are they experiencing itching?

- Yes, they are.

- It may be ____________________________ .

# 4

- What’s the problem, lady?

- It’s my son. He’s got swelling near his ears.

- Does he have a fever?

- Yes, he does.

- Sounds like ________________________ .

# 5

- How are you feeling?

- I’ve got this terrible cough. And after I cough, I make a noise when I try to breathe.

- Oh, it’s definitely ______________________________ .

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 5860