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Thread: NZ colloquialisms in medical practice

  1. #1
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    Default NZ colloquialisms in medical practice

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/1...ealand-doctors:

    "... the use of slang, possibly incomprehensible to doctors coming to practise in New Zealand, has meant a list of colloquialisms is regularly included in Cole's Medical Practice in New Zealand.

    Editor of the guide, published by the Medical Council of New Zealand, is Wellington GP Dr Ian St George, who said the section headed "Take our word for it: NZ slang expressions" was first included in the guide in 2008.

    ..."
    Last edited by ralf-nz; 8th January 2011 at 07:13 AM.

  2. #2
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    Most of them seem simmilar to england, but it's a good point. I think that a few years back then they started showing coronation street to call centre workers to try to get 'normal' accents and speach instead of the text book language school version.

  3. #3
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    LOL at some of the expressions, and/but how very sensible of them to include that.

  4. #4
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    Default

    Another one for Americans: in NZ - giddy means dizzy as in 'my head is spinning'.

  5. #5
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    *shrug* I've been a doctor in NZ for almost 2 years and I've not had a problem with understanding NZ slang or them understanding my Wiltshire accent. Maybe for Indian/Asian medical staff it would be needed but most foreign medical graduates have studied in the UK or US long enough for it not to be an issue.

    A lot of this rubbish seems like work creation for the hell of it, to be honest.

  6. #6
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    Well, I am a doctor who considers working in NZ and I have to admit I am a little bit nervous now!

  7. #7
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    Sue, don't be nervous! The biggest difference I've found with NZ medical practice vs UK medical practice is that people expect you to head to the beach if you finish early

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Tauranga
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    One thing to look out for is the use of brand names for drugs. Many of the doctors (and nurses) here in Tauranga still refer to the brand name of a drug. For someone who in the UK was lucky enough to have only dealt in generic names i spent much of my first six months over here with my head in the drug reference book trying to figure out what losec, lasix, inhibace etc actually were.

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