VOA慢速英语 2008 0129b

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. 

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein.  On our program this week, we look at how people become medical doctors in the United States. 

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

 
A medical student in the state of Wyoming
It is not easy to become a doctor in the United States.  The first step is getting into a medical college.  More than one hundred twenty American schools offer study programs for people seeking to become a doctor. 

People can get advice about medical schools from many resources.  One of these is the Princeton Review. The publication provides information about colleges, study programs and jobs.

The Princeton Review says competition to enter medical schools is strong.  It says about thirty-five thousand people compete for sixteen thousand openings in American medical schools each year.  Many of those seeking to be admitted are women. 

VOICE TWO:

Most people seeking admission contact more than one medical school.  Some applicants² contact many.  An important part of the application usually is the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT.  The Association of American Medical Colleges provides the test by computer.  It is offered in the United States and in other countries around the world.

The applicant¹ is rated on reasoning, physical and biological sciences and an example of writing.  Applicants for medical school need to do well on the MCAT.  They also need a good record in their college studies.

VOICE ONE:

People who want to become doctors often study large amounts of biology, chemistry or other science.  Some students work for a year or two in a medical or research job before they attempt to enter medical school.

A direct meeting, or interview, also is usually required for entrance to medical schools.  This means talking with a school representative.  The interviewer wants to know what the applicant is like.  Does the person understand the demands of life as a medical student and doctor in training?  What are the person’s goals for a life in medicine? 

VOICE TWO:

A medical education can be very costly³.  One year at a private medical college can cost forty thousand dollars or more.  The average at a public medical school is more than fifteen thousand dollars.  Most students need loans to pay for medical school.  Many finish their education heavily in debt.       

Some Americans become doctors by joining the United States Army, Navy, Air Force or Public Health Service.  They attend the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.  These students attend without having to pay.  They also receive training beyond the usual education in areas needed by military and public health doctors.  In return, they spend seven years in government service. 

VOICE ONE:

Doctors are among the highest paid people in the United States.  Big-city doctors who work in specialties⁴ like eye care or surgical⁵ operations usually earn the most money.  But some other doctors earn far less.  That is especially true in poor communities.  Doctors in areas far from cities may sometimes get part of their payment in fruits or vegetables.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:      

Medical students spend their first two years mainly in classroom study.  They learn about the body and all its systems.  They also begin studying how to recognize and treat disease.

 
Medical students perform a dissection⁶ of a body at the University of Massachusetts
By the third year, students begin working with patients in hospitals.  Experienced doctors who have treated many patients guide them as they work.  As the students learn, they think about the kind of medical skills they will need to work as doctors.

VOICE ONE:

During the fourth year, students begin contacting hospital programs for the additional training they will need after medical school.  Competition to work at a top hospital can be fierce.

Doctors-in-training in hospitals are called interns⁷ or residents.  They are usually called interns during their first year.  After that, the name of the job is resident.  The trainees⁸ treat patients guided by medical professors and other experts.

VOICE TWO:

All fifty states require at least one year of hospital work for doctors-in-training educated at medical schools in the United States.  Graduates of study programs at most foreign medical schools may have to complete two or three years of residency, although there are exceptions.  

To be accepted for a residency, a person must meet the requirements of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.  This process involves several tests before a person can receive a visa to stay in the United States for the training period.

Those completing study programs at foreign medical schools may be required to return to their own country for at least two years after their training ends.  But because of doctor shortages or other needs, some have been able to get visas without the required two-year stay in their home country.

VOICE ONE:

Doctors-in-training receive experience in different kinds of care.  Interns, for example, may work with children for one month.  Then the next month they may be in the operating room.  How long a residency lasts depends on the chosen area of medicine.

There are many medical specialties.  Some people become cardiologists and care for the heart.  Others become oncologists and treat cancer patients.  Still others become pediatricians and take care of children.  And some doctors go into medical research, either at a university or with a private company. 

VOICE TWO:

But whatever they choose, they first need experience.  Some doctors work a long time in hospitals before they are fully⁹ trained in a specialty¹⁰.  Neurosurgeons are a good example.  They operate on the brain, neck and back.  Some spend six years or more as residents before beginning private practice.

A doctor in Chicago, Illinois, remembers that before his internship¹¹, he wanted to work in crisis medicine.  But he lost that interest after he interned¹² in a hospital emergency room.  He saw many patients who needed help immediately, like accident victims and victims of gunshot wounds.  The specialty he chose, surgery, lets him have more time to decide how to help his patients. 

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen ninety-nine, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released a report on medical mistakes in American hospitals.  The report said preventable mistakes resulted in at least forty-four thousand deaths each year.

Five years later, the New England Journal of Medicine published two government-financed studies of serious mistakes made by interns.  The studies found that the mistake rate in two intensive-care areas decreased when interns worked fewer hours.  The interns made fewer mistakes when they had to order medicines and identify conditions.      

Teaching hospitals say they must pay more for work from other employees because resident hours are shortened.  Some residents say they need extended time with patients to observe changes in their condition.  And some experienced doctors say residents need to work as much as they can to become good doctors.

VOICE TWO:

But in two thousand three, the Accreditation¹³ Council for Graduate Medical Education reduced the hours that residents may work.  The council supervises the training of residents.  Some residents were spending one hundred or more hours a week at their hospitals.  They were often on duty more than thirty-six hours at a time, with limited sleep. 

The changed rules limit residents to thirty hours of duty at a time.  A hospital is not supposed to require more than eighty hours of duty in a week.  In addition, interns and residents must have one day off in every seven.  But some residents say all hospitals are not following the new rules.

VOICE ONE:

Paul Rockey is a medical education expert in Illinois.  He has worked for years with residents.  He says residencies today are more difficult than before.  Patients do not stay as long in the hospital as they once did.  So Doctor Rockey says there is a lot of pressure on young doctors to learn quickly.

He says the difficulties of a medical education may be great.  But, he adds that people also get great satisfaction seeing themselves gain the knowledge and skills to become good doctors. 

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Brianna Blake.  I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember.  Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com.  Listen again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

 

1 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

5 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

6 dissection   

n.分析；解剖

参考例句：

• A dissection of your argument shows several inconsistencies.对你论点作仔细分析后发现一些前后矛盾之处。
• Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。

7 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

8 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

11 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习

12 interned   

v.拘留，关押( intern的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was interned but,as he was in no way implicated in war crimes,was released. 他曾被拘留过，但因未曾涉嫌战争罪行而被释放了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These soldiers were interned in a neutral country until the war was over. 这些士兵被拘留在一个中立国，直到战争结束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网