Top 5 Podcasts for improving your medical English!

Are you already an avid podcast listener? If not, why not?! Podcasts are a great way to make boring tasks (housework, getting to work, buying groceries etc.) much more entertaining! It also means you can improve your medical English vocabulary and get amazing at listening skills without having to take time out of your day to sit and study! And the best part? It’s completely free!

Never heard of podcasts before? They are free (usually, and that includes all in this list) audio programmes about anything and everything. They can be listened to through a web browser or using many apps. Whether you have an Android or an Apple phone, you likely already have an app installed which came with your phone to listen. If not, or you don’t like the app you have, there are loads of free apps to choose from!

So here is my list of 6 of the best podcasts for people who want to improve their medical English without getting bored!

(* I have made a glossary of any unusual slang/idioms/phrasal verbs that I use so you can see them in context. Just click the link to open the glossary page)

1. BMJ Talk Medicine podcast

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So this podcast includes almost every category of medicine you could possibly be interested in! It’s made by the British Medical Journal, but as well as including podcasts from the main journal, there are also loads of options from many of their other publications. Therefore, whatever speciality you are working in, you will definitely find something useful and relevant!

My recommendation is to scroll through the various podcasts in the series and just pick whichever one suits you best! The best thing about this podcast is it includes loads of useful up to date research, so you can stay ahead of your colleagues even if you have no time for reading!

2. The Resus Room

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The Resus Room is a great podcast for anyone interested in acute or emergency care. They also cover pre-hospital medicine for any adrenaline junkies*! The best thing about this podcast is that they cover a lot of evidence and facts but in an entertaining way. The format is 3 health professionals talking about evidence, but you genuinely feel like you are sat with them in the coffee room! Listening to it doesn’t feel like work or study, but you come away having learned something. They also include a lot of British English slang, so you can learn how to speak like a native! Don’t worry though, they speak clearly and not too quickly, so it’s not too tricky* to understand.

3. 2 GPs in a Pod

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This is a great podcast if you want to understand a bit more about Primary care in the UK. Like the Resus Room podcast above, it is also presented in a very fun, friendly and accessible manner. They pick interesting topics to discuss, and I understand it’s a big hit* among many British GPs (General Practitioners: specialists in family/community medicine).

4. MDTea

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This is a podcast for anyone who works with older patients. The title of the podcast is a clever pun* on the acronym MDT: short for “multidisciplinary team”. This describes a group of professionals who are trained in different specialities (for example: physiotherapists, doctors, nurses, dietitians etc) who all work together to care for a patient or group of patients. This podcast is designed to help all members of the MDT improve their knowledge in caring for older patients.

If you are studying for the Occupational English Test this podcast is very relevant! The listening part C is likely to include topics related to all aspects of healthcare, not just medicine or nursing. Therefore this podcast can really help build your vocabulary in preparation for the test.

5. BBC Inside Health

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This is a hugely popular podcast and many of my students enjoy it. It is very professionally made by the BBC. Whereas the other podcasts above are designed specifically for healthcare professionals this podcast is made for the general public. This means you can get an idea of what sort of language you should use when talking to your patients (especially in an exam such as OET speaking or PLAB 2). A similar BBC podcast is called “Health Check”. This is made by the world service, meaning that it is more focused on international health topics.

And some other great podcasts…!

I thought carefully about the list of podcasts above to ensure that they are all very relevant to many health professionals working in a wide range of jobs looking to improve their medical English. However, there are a few podcasts I love, and I feel I could not possibly write an article without mentioning them! So here are some more great ideas to keep you listening!

– Obs Gynae Crit Care podcast

So this is actually my personal favourite medical podcast, but it is very very specific! It is about anaesthetic and critical care relating to obstetrics (and occasionally gynaecology). It is hosted by experienced obstetric anaesthetists and they talk a lot about their personal experience and integrate that into the latest evidence. They are also Australian so this is very helpful if you need to practise this accent for the OET! I would give it a miss* though if you do not have an interest in anaesthetics.

– Griefcast

This is a comedy podcast about death, so not directly related to medicine. However, this is a wonderful podcast (it won podcast of the year in 2018) and it is an amazing mixture of funny and moving. The presenter is a comedian who speaks with other comedians about their experience of bereavement (coping with somebody dying). It can offer some great cultural insight into how death is viewed and discussed in the UK . It can also help build your vocabulary to discuss end of life matters with your patients.

– Occupied

I am a huge podcast fan, and I always like to recommend podcasts to my students to help them practise their listening. However when I had a student who was an occupational therapist I didn’t know what to recommend. Luckily, an OT friend of mine recommended this podcast and it’s great for all things occupational therapy! It’s also presented by an Australian, so is perfect for OET listening revision.

– Royal College of Psychiatrists Podcast

This is a great podcast for all things psychiatry related! It has episodes about up to date research as well as more general interest issues. It can also help you understand the way mental health treatment is structured in the UK.

So that’s my list!

I hope this has inspired you to get listening! What did you think of the podcasts I suggested? Are there any other great podcasts you listen to that should have made the list? Let me know in the comments!