5. Read the following scenario.

A female head injury patient is transferred from another hospital to an ICU at your hospital. In the process, her records have disappeared. She is very ill and unable to communicate.

Write an urgent email to Dr Van Rijn at the other hospital explaining the situation and requesting information about the patient: personal details, medical history, family details, and history of the presenting problem.

Dear Dr Van Rijn

I am … [say who you are, who the patient is, and why you are writing]

The patient is … [say what you know about the patient]

I would be grateful if you could … [say what you want Dr Van Rijn to do]

6. Study the medical certificate form. What information should be put in the gaps? You are a doctor, and your patient, Anna Green, is suffering from flu. Try to fill this form. Medical certificate

Signature of the Applicant ………………………………………………….

I, Dr. ………………………………………. after careful personal examination of the case hereby certify that …………………………………….. ………………… whose signature is given above, is suffering from …………………….. that I consider that a period of absence from duty for …………………. with effect from ………………… to …………………… is absolutely necessary for the restoration of his/her health.

MEDICAL OFFICER

Station:

Date:

7. Read the information and the sample of medical referral letter.

A medical referral letter is sent from one physician to another when referring a patient for care. Most often the letter is sent from the patient's general practitioner or primary care physician to a specialist with a request for diagnosis or treatment of a patient. Writing a medical referral letter is up to each individual doctor, although some medical groups have templates to be followed.

Sample of a Physician Referral Letter

25.07.13

Dear Dr. Samuel,

I am referring Kate Brown for evaluation and consideration for a weight management surgical procedure. She currently weighs 156 kilos and is 160 cm tall. Her BMI is 60.

I have been Mrs. Brown’s primary care physician for the past 5 years. I have supervised several of her weight control diets and programs. None of these have resulted in any sustained weight loss. As a result of this persistent morbid obesity, her co-morbid conditions are becoming more difficult to manage. These co-morbid conditions are as follows:

Duration: Medication:

1. Hypertension 3 years Norvasc/Tenormin

2. Diabetes Mellitus 5 years Glucophage

3. Obesity Related Depression 3 years Prozac

Losing weight will certainly make these conditions easier to manage. Since non-surgical programs have failed to provide any long-term benefits for the patient, I feel surgery is her only option.

I hope you will find Mrs. Brown a suitable candidate for the surgical weight reduction program. It will provide a tool to assist her in losing weight, as well as maintain that weight loss. I anticipate that this will provide her with a significantly improved quality of life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Peterson

Unit 8

Formal letters.

1. Read the instructions how to write formal letters and letters of application paying attention to the picture below.

Formal letters are normally sent to people in an official position or people you don’t know well (e.g. Director of Studies, Personnel Manager, etc.) They are written in a formal style with a polite, impersonal tone.

• A formal letter should consist of:

1. A formal greeting (e.g. Dear Sir/Madam – when you do not know the person’s name; Dear Ms Smith – when you know the person’s name);

2. An introduction in which you write your opening remarks and mention your reason(s) for writing e.g. I am writing to apply for the position of …);

3. A main body in which you write about the main subject(s) of the letter in detail, starting a new paragraph for each topic;

4. A conclusion in which you write your closing remarks e.g. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible…;

5. A formal ending (Yours faithfully – when you do not know the person’s name; Yours sincerely – when you know the person’s name; + your full name).