Why Language Matters in Medicine

Abstract

Language barriers are widely recognised as a major determinant of health equity. Such barriers in healthcare hinder effective communication between patients and clinicians, compromising patient safety through increased rates of adverse outcomes, diagnostic errors, and medication inaccuracies. They also diminish patient and healthcare professional satisfaction, reduce overall quality of care, and indirectly lead to prolonged consultation times along with increased healthcare costs.1

French is the fifth most spoken language globally, with 321 million speakers across Europe, Africa, North America, and Asia. It serves as an official language in 29 countries.2 For medical students, proficiency in French constitutes both a cultural asset and a practical means of lowering language barriers among diverse patient populations.

The Anglo-French Medical Society (AFMS) organised an annual Medical French Weekend Residential Course in Lille. This program provided students with the opportunity to approach language as a clinical tool rather thana purely academic pursuit.

The AFMS was established to foster collaboration and partnership between British and French healthcare professionals. Its annual Lille course is one of its leading student initiatives, intended to equip attendees with the history-taking skills, clinical vocabulary, and the opportunity to apply those skills in French. The programme merged specialty-based teaching, stimulated scenarios, and practical workshops. The sessions comprised of multiple disciplines, including emergency medicine, psychiatry, respiratory medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and cardiology along with a focus on humanitarian practice with tutors sharing their experiences of practising in Francophone healthcare systems. Above all, the course welcomed students of all levels, from beginners with a basic knowledge of the French language to near-fluent speakers focused on refining their clinical terminology.

This inclusion embodies the ethos of organiser, Dr Zara Bieler, a clinician practising in both the UK and France. She stressed that language is not peripheral but central to medicine:

“History-taking is the key part of the whole consultation. Even if you only speak a little of someone’s first language, it’s a very human part of the interaction and can go a long way.”

This perspective highlights the integral role of language in clinical encounters. In the absence of a shared language, clinicians may fail to acknowledge necessary details during the history-taking process.

Additionally, Dr. Bieler emphasised the global relevance of French for medical students and healthcare professionals pursuing international work or humanitarian medicine:

“There are large parts of the world where French is one of the main languages. For someone wanting to work with Médecins Sans Frontières or abroad, it can open many doors.”

French is one of the two official working languages of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). For those preparing for humanitarian vocations, command of French is not only advantageous but often imperative.

Lastly, Dr. Bieler illustrated the clinical consequences of language skills with a case from her own training:

“A patient of mine developed pre-eclampsia, and I was able to pick it up quickly.  I was able to get her into hospital, that baby was born safely. I really think about her and having had that language skill, and that continuity of care really made a difference in that case."

Dr. Bieler reflection on a case early in her training involving care for a Congolese refugee in the United Kingdom demonstrates that communication in a patient's primary language can have a direct, significant influence on clinical outcomes.”

This emphasis on cultural as well as linguistic understanding was echoed by Dr Margaret Cant, a practising physician in France after many years as a GP in the UK, who tutors on the course in respiratory medicine. She underscored that the significance of language learning goes beyond vocabulary.

“Apart from the obvious advantages of speaking the same language as the patient, learning a foreign language creates an awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences which might, if not recognised, create difficulties in the doctor-patient consultation.”

Dr Cant exemplifies this notion with the phrase “la crise de foie”, which is directly translated to “liver crisis”, but in French it’s commonly used to describe digestive upset. If taken literally, it could mislead a non-native speaker. When understood culturally, it illustrates the different ways illness can be expressed and conceptualised.  

“Learning a foreign language helps you, as a doctor, to ‘tune in’ to the different ways in which the health of the body is understood by people not brought up with standard British ideas. And this sensitivity is a transferable quality, causing you to question the assumptions you make about the ideas and understanding of the patient in every doctor-patient consultation, whatever language is spoken by the patient.”

Such perspective enhances clinical practice. By questioning assumptions and adjusting to and comprehending various explanatory models of illness, doctors can communicate more effectively with patients from diverse backgrounds. As Dr Cant concluded:

“It enriches your experience as a doctor as well as enabling the patient to feel understood - a sentiment that is highly valued by patients but not necessarily recognised as such by doctors.

From my own standpoint, the weekend I spent in Lille taught me that learning a new language in medicine does not demand fluency to be clinically valuable. Even partial proficiency, such as asking about allergies, explaining a diagnosis, or simply greeting in a patient’s native language, can build trust and rapport and reduce miscommunication. 

This lesson was particularly evocative. Arabic, my first language, has refined my outlook of how central communication is in medicine, even prior to significant clinical exposure. French, as another global language, offers a complementary dimension. It diversifies and expands the scope of patients I might one day connect with. Therefore, developing competency in both languages offers a pragmatic approach to breaking down those linguistic and communication barriers and preparing to practice in global healthcare settings. 

The AFMS Medical French weekend ultimately depicts the fundamental principle that language should be seen as a clinical skill rather than merely an optional adjunct. Apart from enhancing vocabulary, initiatives like this foster cultural competence and promote clinician-patient language concordance, outcomes that have been associated with improved patient safety, increased satisfaction, and consolidating trust and rapport between clinician and patients.​

With the ongoing globalization and diversification of healthcare, learning new languages offers medical students an effective approach to address health inequalities. Whether serving diverse communities in the NHS or working abroad with organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières, the means to communicate with patients in their own language is crucial to providing equitable care.

References:

1.Al Shamsi H et al. Implications of language barriers for healthcare: a systematic review. Oman medical journal, 2020, v35(2):e122.​

2.Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. The French language in figures. Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, 2025.​