Medical Spanish

1. Import into Anki

Getting your deck into Anki takes about 60 seconds.

1. Open Anki on your computer or phone
2. Go to File > Import (desktop) or tap the + button (mobile)
3. Select the .apkg file you downloaded from Lemon Squeezy

The deck will appear in your collection with all sub-decks, audio files, and tags intact. No extra setup needed.

2. Recommended settings

Anki's defaults work, but these adjustments will give you better results with this deck:

• New cards per day: 5-10. Clinical terms need to stick permanently. Slower intake means higher retention.
• Maximum reviews per day: 200. The default of 200 is fine. If your daily reviews regularly exceed 150, reduce new cards for a few days.
• Learning steps: 1m 10m. Anki's default. Leave it.

To change these: click the gear icon next to the deck name, then "Options."

3. How the three card types work

Every word in this deck generates three cards. Each tests a different skill:

• Recognition (Spanish to English). You see the word in Spanish and produce the meaning. This is the easiest card type and builds passive vocabulary.
• Production (English to Spanish). You see the English meaning and produce the Spanish word. Harder, but this is what you need for speaking.
• Cloze (fill in the blank). You see a real sentence with one word missing. This tests whether you can use the word in context.

Feeling overwhelmed? Suspend the Production cards for the first week. Focus on Recognition and Cloze. Add Production back once your daily reviews feel manageable. To suspend: select cards in the browser, right-click, "Toggle Suspend."

4. Where to start

This deck is built for healthcare professionals who treat Spanish-speaking patients in the US and Latin America. It covers clinical communication across CEFR levels with specialized medical sub-decks.

• Need patient history skills fast. Start with the patient history sub-deck immediately. This covers chief complaint questions, review of systems, past medical/surgical history, medications, and allergies. These are the phrases you will use in every patient encounter.
• Know conversational Spanish already. Skip to A2-B1 and focus on the clinical sub-decks. The gap between conversational Spanish and medical Spanish is significant. You need specific vocabulary for symptoms, procedures, medication instructions, and informed consent. General fluency does not automatically translate to clinical competency.
• Medical student on rotation. Study the intake and history-taking sub-decks intensively for 2 weeks before your rotation. Then add the sub-deck for your specific rotation (internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, etc.). Having even basic medical Spanish dramatically changes the quality of your patient interactions.

Study plan for clinical readiness

Medical Spanish is high-stakes. Here is a structured approach based on your timeline.

• 2-week emergency prep. 5-10 cards/day focused exclusively on intake questions and vital symptom vocabulary. You will be able to conduct basic triage in Spanish.
• 6-week rotation prep. 10 cards/day covering patient history, common symptoms, medication instructions, and physical exam commands. Enough for supervised clinical work.
• 12-week comprehensive. 10-15 cards/day through all clinical sub-decks. Full clinical communication including discharge instructions, consent discussions, and specialty terminology.

Tips for healthcare professionals

Medical Spanish in the US has unique challenges.

• Your patients may use folk medicine terms. Some Latino patients describe conditions using cultural terms like empacho (digestive blockage), susto (fright sickness), or mal de ojo (evil eye). Understanding these terms helps you take better histories and build trust, even if you do not share the belief system. The deck includes cultural health vocabulary where relevant.
• Study during clinical downtime. Most healthcare professionals cannot dedicate an hour to language study. Use Anki in 5-10 minute bursts between patients, during lunch, or during quiet call periods. Spaced repetition is designed for exactly this pattern. Consistency matters more than session length.
• Pair with interpreter experience. If your facility has interpreters, pay attention to the phrases they use. You will start recognizing vocabulary from the deck in real conversations. This reinforces your learning and builds clinical context that pure study cannot provide.

Essential clinical phrases

These cover the core of every patient encounter. Memorize them first.

• Donde le duele?. 'Where does it hurt?' Start of every pain assessment.
• Desde cuando?. 'Since when? / How long?' Onset timing.
• Es alergico a algo?. 'Are you allergic to anything?' Safety essential.
• Toma medicamentos?. 'Do you take any medications?' Med reconciliation.
• Respire profundo. 'Take a deep breath.' Physical exam instruction.

The "Again" button is your friend

When Anki shows you a card and you don't know the answer, hit Again. Not "Hard." Not "Good." Again.

Spaced repetition works best when you're honest about what you don't know. Cards you mark "Again" come back sooner. Cards you know well space out further. The algorithm adjusts to you. Trust it.

Audio on every card

Every card has native speaker audio. On desktop, audio plays automatically when the card appears. On mobile, tap the speaker icon.

Tip: listen to the audio BEFORE reading the text. Train your ear first, then confirm with your eyes. This builds listening comprehension faster than reading alone.

Lifetime updates

Your purchase includes free updates for the life of the product. When we add new cards, fix audio, or improve translations, you can re-download the latest version from Lemon Squeezy at no extra cost.

We announce updates via email. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Need help?

Reply to any Eidetic email or reach out at hello@eidetic.cards. We read everything and respond fast.