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At an Italian doctor’s office

Last Modified: June 19, 2022

Today I’d like to continue the list of small guides to survive when you’re in Italy. So, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the Italian doctor’s office. I’ll give you some easy sentences you can use when you have health problems in Italy and need to go to an Italian doctor’s office.

Il Medico di Famiglia/Base

Il medico di famiglia or il medico di base in Italy is the general practitioner. Medici di famiglia focus on adult patients. If you have a child aged 0 to 14 that needs medical attention, you should go to see a pediatra – pediatrician.

Medici di famiglia treat common medical conditions. If you need a specialist, they refer you to one.

If you live in Italy regularly, you can choose your medico di famiglia and your pediatra as soon as you subscribe in the Italian health system, called Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, S.S.N.

When you have a health problem that is not an emergency, you go to your Italian doctor’s office directly – allo studio del medico di famiglia. However, after covid you usually have to get an appointment first.

So, let’s see how to make an appointment to go to your Italian doctor’s office first.

Making an appointment

Segretaria: Pronto?

Secretary: Hello

Paziente: Pronto, buongiorno, vorrei prenotare un appuntamento con il dottor Rossi.

Patient: Hello, good morning, I’d like to make an appointment to see doctor Rossi.

Segretaria: Oggi il dottore è pieno ma ho una disponibilità per domani alle 11:30. Può andare bene?

Secretary: Today the doctor has a busy schedule but he is free tomorrow at 11:30. Is that ok for you?

Paziente: Sì, domani alle 11:30 è perfetto/No, domani alle 11:30 non posso. E’ libero mercoledì alle 14:00?

Patient: Yes, tomorrow at 11:30 is perfect/No, tomorrow at 11:30 I can’t. Is the doctor free on Wednesday at 14:00?

Segretaria: Perfetto. Mi lascia il nome?/Sì, mercoledì alle 14:00 è libero. Mi lascia il nome?

Secretary: Perfect. May I have your name? Yes, he’s free on Wednesday at 2pm. May I have your name?

Paziente: Daniele Gornati

Patient: Daniele Gornati

Segretaria: Bene, ci vediamo domani alle 11:30. Buona giornata/Bene ci vediamo mercoledì alle 14:00. Buona giornata.

Secretary: Good, see you tomorrow at 11:30. Have a nice day/Good, see you on Wednesday at 2pm. Have a nice day.

Paziente: Grazie, buona giornata a Lei.

Patient: Thank you, have a nice day

Good, now you have your appointment. The next step is to go to your Italian doctor’s office and explain the problem you have.



At the doctor’s office

Dottore: Buongiorno. Prego, mi dica (qual è il problema)?

Doctor: Good morning. Please have a seat. Tell me (what’s the problem??

Paziente: Buongiorno, mi fa male il ginocchio da 3 giorni

Patient: Good morning, my knee has been hurting for 3 days

Dottore: Cosa sente esattamente?

Doctor: What do you feel exactly?

Paziente: Mi fa male la zona dietro il ginocchio quando provo a muoverla e la sento rigida.

Patient: The area behind my knee hurts when I try to move it and it feels stiff.

Dottore: Ha fatto qualche sforzo in questo periodo?

Doctor: Did you make any effort during this time?

Paziente: Sforzi particolari no, però ho ricominciato ad andare in palestra, magari è stato quello.

Patient: I didn’t make particular efforts but I started going to the gym again, maybe that was it.

Dottore: Potrebbe essere, si sdrai sul lettino che la visito.

Doctor: It could be, please lie on the examination table so I can visit you.

Paziente: Va bene.

Patient: Ok.

Dottore: Le fa male quando premo qui?

Doctor: Does it hurt when I press here?

Paziente: No

Patient: No

Dottore: E quando le muovo la gamba così?

Doctor: And when I move your leg like this?

Paziente: Ahi! Sì, così mi fa molto male.

Patient: Ouch! Yes, it hurts me a lot.

Dottore: Sembrerebbe un’infiammazione tendinea. Deve stare a riposo, mettere il ghiaccio sulla zona dolente e assumere degli antidolorifici, adesso le faccio la ricetta.

Doctor: It would seem like a tendon inflammation. You must rest, put ice on the painful area and take some painkillers, now I give you the prescription.

Paziente: Va bene. Quante volte devo prendere gli antidolorifici e per quanto tempo?

Patient: Ok. How often should I take painkillers and for how long?

Dottore: Deve prendere due pastiglie al giorno, una dopo pranzo e una dopo cena, per una settimana.

Doctor: You must take two tablets a day, one after lunch and one after dinner, for a week.

Paziente: Perfetto.

Patient: Perfect.

Dottore: Ecco a lei la ricetta. Mi raccomando, si ricordi che il riposo è essenziale!

Doctor: Here’s the prescription. Please remember that rest is essential!

Paziente: Grazie dottore. Le prometto che starò a riposo. ArrivederLa

Patient: Thank you doctor. I promise you I’ll rest. Goodbye.

Dottore: ArrivederLa

Doctor: Goodbye.

Health problems

Here’s a small list of possible health problems you might have when you see a medico di famiglia and some useful expressions:

Ho una brutta tosse = I’ve a bad cough

Ho il mal di gola = I’ve a sore throat

Ho il mal di testa/stomaco/dito/mano/braccio/gamba/piede/orecchio… = I’ve a headache, stomachache, finger ache, hand ache, arm ache, leg ache, foot ache, earache…

Ho la nausea = I’ve nausea

Ho la dissenteria = I’ve diarrhea

Ho il raffreddore = I’ve a cold

Ho la febbre = I’ve a fever

Ho i piedi/le mani… gonfi/gonfie = My feet/hands are swollen

Ho l’allergia = I’ve got allergy

Ho l’asma = I’ve got asthma

Mi prude la schiena = My back itches

Mi brucia il braccio = I’ve got a burning sensation to my arm

Mi fa male il gomito = my elbow hurts

Mi sono scottato/a = I burned myself/I got sunburn

Mi sono tagliato/a = I cut myself

Sono allergica ai crostacei = I’m allergic to shellfish

Good, now if you ever need to go to an Italian doctor’s office, now you know all the basic sentences and vocabulary related to health problem that you may need to use.

If you found this small guide helpful and want to read more guides like this, don’t forget to leave me a comment, share this post with the world or like my Facebook page!


Credits

Original image by Nastya_gepp

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