Dr.Can OET Medical
Professional Teacher
Writing medication names as healthcare professionals - OET Medicine
Dear all,
I am Dr. Can, and I am one of the professional teachers here in the iTalki Platform.
I will be providing small daily tips to improve your skills in Medical English.
Medications can be mentioned in two ways. We can either say the chemical name of the medication as ''paracetamol'' or we can say the brand that we buy as ''Tylenol''.
If we write the chemical name, we should not capitalise the name of the medication.
For example: ibuprofen, penicillin , pantoprazole..
When we write the brand name instead, they need to be capitalised.
For example: Excedrin, Pen-OS or Panto.
Hope this small tip helps with your writing.
Do not hesitate to contact for other questions. You are also always invited to book a trial lesson with me for us to know each other and practice together.
I wish you all the best with your studies!
Dr. Can
Apr 24, 2020 4:20 PM
Comments · 3
Thanks god a don't live in the US , I wouldn't be able to pronounce acetaminophen . Thanks for the info.
April 24, 2020
It’s interesting to note that “paracetamol” is called “acetaminophen” in American English.
By the way, I think you’re referring to generic names, not chemical names.
April 24, 2020
Dear Phil,
Thanks for your comment. Yes our transatlantic friends call it acetaminophen instead paracetamol.
The term generic name can also refer to the same medication produced by another company who did not invent this medication. Therefore I think it is better to say ''chemical'' instead of ''generic'' in terms of accuracy. But in the daily usage I think people say generic. Thanks for the correction!
Best,
Dr. Can
April 24, 2020
