HOW TO PREPARE YOUR
MEDICAL ENGLISH
PRESENTATION
Dos & Don’ts
LAYOUT
 presentation title
 name, year of study
 academic year
e.g.
TYPE AND STRUCTURE OF BONES
Tomislav Horvat, 2nd year
2010/11
LAYOUT
 balanced text-picture ratio
LAYOUT
 use notes, DON’T use full sentences:
A simple fracture means that the bone breaks in only one place,
whereas in a comminuted fracture the bone is splintered or
crushed in several pieces.
↓


simple fracture
→ bone broken in 1 place
comminuted fracture → bone splintered/crushed in several
pieces
LAYOUT
 start all notes either with CAPITALS or LOWER CASE:
CRANIAL BONES
frontal
Parietal
Temporal
occipital
Sphenoid
ethmoid
FACIAL BONES
Nasal
nasal
Lacrimal
lacrimal
Maxillary OR maxillary
Mandibular
mandibular
Zygomatic
zygomatic
Vomer
vomer
LAYOUT
 spell check!!!
 choose either American or British
spelling, DON’T MIX!
LAYOUT
 DON’T choose dark backgrounds
+ dark letters
 font size → not too small
 font type → don’t mix wildly, use
systematically (e.g. to EMPHASIZE
titles/subtitles, key words, etc.)
CONTENT ORGANIZATION
1. introduction
2. main body
3. conclusion
4. references
CONTENT ORGANIZATION
 introduction options:
→ global statement / general truth
e.g. The nervous system is one of the most complex systems,
operated by over 10 billion nerve cells which coordinate all our
voluntary and involuntary activities.
→ word origin
e.g. Schizophrenia is a compound term literally meaning “split mind”.
→ personal experience
e.g. I once saw a person having an epileptic attack. or I sustained a
simple wrist fracture when I fell off my bike as a kid.
→ question to audience
e.g. What were the 2 types of bone cells that we learned about in
histology?
CONTENT ORGANIZATION
 main body options:
e.g. organ system → function as a whole,
parts and their structure and functions
e.g. organ → location, structure (micro & macro),
physiology (function)
e.g. disorder → epidemiology /etiology /
pathophysiology, clinical features,
diagnostics, treatments
CONTENT ORGANIZATION
 conclusion options:
→ interesting / curious facts
e.g. While most vertebrates are physically capable of producing
tears, many scientists say that humans are the only animals
that cry emotional tears.
→ new research / treatments
e.g. Recent studies report possible new breakthroughs in treatment
approaches to Alzheimer’s. For instance…
→ global trends / Croatian stats
e.g. While …percent of women are reported to be on the pill globally,
in Croatia the figure is much lower, i.e. …percent.
→ personal experiences
e.g. Dislocations are usually not treated surgically, but in my case…
PRESENTING TIPS
BEFORE…
 rehearse
 time yourself (appr. 10 min)
DURING…
 DON’T read – talk
 interact → ask questions
→ incorporate tasks / quizzes