English speaking Doctor!

[stephen d lawn]

Hi

I'm resident in France in region 56 (Pontivy area) and I am trying tofind an English speaking doctor.  Does anyone know of an english speaking doctor in this area?

Steve Lawn

 

[Nicos]

Please correct me if I am wrong......

I thought most French doctors speak English to a reasonable standard- especially the younger ones- as a lot of the medical books they use at Uni are in English.

If you can't find a fluent English speaker, it might be worth finding a younger doctor??

It's always reassuring when you know you have got your point accross though- and understand their response!!

Good luck with your quest!

[Logan]

[quote user="Nicos"]Please correct me if I am wrong......
I thought most French doctors speak English to a reasonable standard- especially the younger ones- as a lot of the medical books they use at Uni are in English.
If you can't find a fluent English speaker, it might be worth finding a younger doctor??
It's always reassuring when you know you have got your point accross though- and understand their response!!
Good luck with your quest!
[/quote]

They might have knowledge of English. However the real question is are they willing to speak to you in anything other than French. Some are but many are not. The mind set in France is you should speak and understand French. These entrenched attitudes are changing very slowly, particulary in the countryside. Some areas offer English lessons to Doctors but I hear the response is very poor. Try your local CPAM web site there may be some help there.

[stephen d lawn]

thanks i have now found an english speaking doctor in pontivy just 15 km from me.

 

sl

[5-element]

Stephen: I am genuinely glad that you have found a doctor you can speak to, and understand, as it can be so tricky otherwise.

But

[quote user="Logan"]

They might have knowledge of English. However the real question is are they willing to speak to you in anything other than French. Some are but many are not. The mind set in France is you should speak and understand French. These entrenched attitudes are changing very slowly, particulary in the countryside. Some areas offer English lessons to Doctors but I hear the response is very poor. Try your local CPAM web site there may be some help there.

[/quote]

 

Let's try this just for fun. Imagine a French person living and working in England, they ask to find a French-speaking doctor, and the response goes like this:

 

(About English doctors): They might have knowledge of French. However, the real question is are they willing to speak to you in anything other than English? Some are, but many are not. The mindset in England is you should speak and understand English. These entrenched attitudes are changing very slowly, particularly in Essex. Some areas offer French lessons to doctors, but I hear the response is very poor.

ROFL

[Will]

Be careful - make sure you are looking over your shoulder for the gendarmes before contributing to this topic.

According to another forum, one which carries frequent requests for English-speaking professionals in France, it is against the law in France to put contact details for medical personnel on the internet.

[Cat]

You must have done the same Google search as I did Will, as I found the same result on, I suspect, the same forum.  I was unable to verify the accuracy of the statement.

[Clair]

[quote user="Will"]Be careful - make sure you are looking over your shoulder for the gendarmes before contributing to this topic.

According to another forum, one which carries frequent requests for English-speaking professionals in France, it is against the law in France to put contact details for medical personnel on the internet.[/quote]

Article 19 (article R.4127-19 du code de la santé publique)

La médecine ne doit pas être pratiquée comme un commerce.

Sont interdits tous procédés directs ou indirects de publicité et

notamment tout aménagement ou signalisation donnant aux locaux une

apparence commerciale.

Article 13 (article R.4127-13 du code de la santé publique)

Lorsque le médecin participe à une action d'information du public

de caractère éducatif et sanitaire, quel qu'en soit le moyen de

diffusion, il doit ne faire état que de données confirmées, faire

preuve de prudence et avoir le souci des répercussions de ses propos

auprès du public. Il doit se garder à cette occasion de toute attitude

publicitaire, soit personnelle, soit en faveur des organismes où il

exerce ou auxquels il prête son concours, soit en faveur d'une cause

qui ne soit pas d'intérêt général.

Article 20 (article R.4127-20 du code de la santé publique)

Le médecin doit veiller à l'usage qui est fait de son nom, de sa qualité ou de ses déclarations.

Il ne doit pas tolérer que les organismes, publics ou privés, où il

exerce ou auxquels il prête son concours utilisent à des fins

publicitaires son nom ou son activité professionnelle.

The Code de Déontologie articles relating to advertising and promotion forbid a doctor to promote his services, dierctly or indirectly. However, there is no mention made of third-party recommendations.

[Chancer]

I am certain that the doctors will have had to pass an English exam as in order to graduate, after all truck drivers, paint sprayers, car mecahnics and even hairdressers have to (I sometimes am a guest at the Lycee professional to converse with them)

However if they never have had the opportunity to converse in English since passing their exams (which could have been 25 years ago) it is understandable that they would be frightened rather than unwilling to do so.

I have just spent more than 2 weeks in hospital and only spoke French the whole time, I did find that when the nurses were not pressured i.e. doing the night rounds etc they would try out a few words of english on me, also the surgeons when I was struggling to express something would sometimes know the medical term in English.

Given how many times a conversation in a second language can be misinterpreted I would far rather a medical proffesional spoke to me in his own language, even if I had to write it down to translate later, than to try in English and give out the wrong information or not ask the question that they thought they were.

I have a good friend who is a retired doctor who does speak good English but he only had the time to commit to several months of intensive courses after he had retired.