Healthcare is a common topic to encounter
in both the speaking and the writing sections of the test.
This video is designed
to help you improve your vocabulary,
so that if this topic came up,
you would feel more confident.
Let's begin!
We're going to go through these new words quite quickly,
and it's your job to spend your time looking and researching
more about these words.
Healthcare can be free or private.
In many countries, you have a free healthcare system,
and in other countries, there's a private healthcare system.
During the writing task,
you may be asked to discuss
the benefits or the drawbacks of each system.
Healthcare systems are run by or managed by healthcare professionals:
These could be doctors, and doctors are front line workers.
And they could be GPS or family doctors,
hospital medics, or even surgeons.
Surgeons are people who perform surgery.
Nurses are frontline healthcare professionals as well,
and their duty is to ensure that the patient receives the best treatment.
They will assist doctors by doing observations of the patient,
and administering drugs when required.
Diseases are things which cause problems in the body.
Common diseases of the body are cardiovascular diseases.
These are diseases which affect the heart and the blood network.
If someone has a heart attack, this is a cardiovascular problem.
Cancer is another disease which can come in many forms.
Cancer can affect almost any cell in the body.
And sometimes it's treatable or curable,
and sometimes it's not.
Other diseases affect places such as the lungs and the brain,
such as a stroke.
Bacteria and viruses cause diseases,
and this is a common discussion point at the moment
due to the coronavirus.
Having a healthy and balanced diet with an active lifestyle
can lead to a longer life.
But eating unhealthily and not exercising can lead to obesity,
and this can lead to many of the problems which we talked about before.
Fatty foods which are high in cholesterol can lead to heart attacks and strokes,
because they damage the arteries, the veins, and the other blood vessels.
Diseases can be managed by or treated by medication or medicine.
Watch out for the pronunciation of the word, "medicine".
Many people say, "medicine".
Dentists look after people's teeth, their gums, and their oral health.
Physiotherapists help keep people moving by working with the joints and the muscles.
Pharmacists work in pharmacies, or in drugstores, or even in chemists.
All those three words mean the same thing; it just depends where you live.
That's lots of vocabulary for now.
Be prepared to talk about this topic in the IELTS Speaking Test,
or write about it in the writing test.
In the speaking test, you might be asked questions such as:
What do people do if they get sick in your country?
Do you need to pay to see a doctor in your country?
Why do people visit the hospital?
In part two,
you might be asked to talk about a time when you didn't feel well.
Your topic card may ask you to talk about why people stay healthy,
or the way people stay healthy.
In part three of the test,
the examiner may ask you:
Do you think it's better to have a public or a private health care system?
Are food companies responsible for keeping people healthy?
Are people more or less healthy than they were in the past?
And in the writing section,
you may get a question which asks you:
In some countries, there's a free health care system,
and in other countries, they are required to pay.
Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.
Or maybe,
the best way to stay healthy is to eat healthily.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
This topic is really large,
and you should be prepared with lots of different vocabulary
to discuss your ideas or to write your ideas.
I hope you've learned lots today.
Leave your ideas and your answers in the comments.
Come and join us in our other videos.
Try to watch as many of our videos as possible
because we will continue to push your vocabulary.
As I say,
you can achieve your IELTS score.
it's certainly possible.
We hear stories all the time of our wonderful IELTS students
who are passing the exam,
again and again.
Again, thanks for watching.
I'll see you in the next video.
Bye for now!