The following vocabulary is useful for talking about people in the medical field.

The people involved

• Medical practitioner – this is a formal term for a doctor or surgeon.
• Surgeon – a medical specialist who can perform surgery (cut open part of the body)
• Specialist – someone who has a deep understanding of a specific area of something (e.g. a cancer specialist).
• Patient – the person who is unwell and needs medical attention
• Emergency services – this can refer to the fire department, the police or ambulance staff.
• First responder – (the same as ‘Emergency services’, more commonly used in the USA).