Have any of you out there had any luck finding an English-speaking physician? I hate, hate, hate going to the doctor, and while I CAN speak French, I don't speak it very well, and I'm so nervous about going to the doctor that having to go and speak in French makes my doubly nervous. I'd like to find an English-speaking doctor as part of the public health system (I don't wanna pay!). Does anybody know how I'd go about doing that?
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COLORADO DISPENSARY (http://colorado.dispensaries.org/)

Contact the nearest consulate, they usually have a listing of English speaking whatever's in your area.

Thanks so much for the information. Even with being able to speak French, when it comes to health issues, knowing exactly what is being said can be a great relief!

Yep, you said it. And for me, it's not understanding so much as expressing. When I'm nervous or feeling pressured, my French just crumbles. I forget words and end up sounding stupid, which makes me even more nervous. Going to the doctor does that to me in general.

Anybody else here have this silly fear of doctors?
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HOTGIRLTINA (http://www.girlcamfriend.com/cam/hotgirltina/)

This might interest some of you - I'm currently working on an emergency travel guide for Brittany that will contain numbers for all kinds of English speaking personnel (doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc), mostly in Rennes though. It might be worth thinking about purchasing if you live in the area, the launch date will be in early November.

There are other guides for other cities in France (and for all over the world); look at http://www.fisherstravelsos.com/ for more information.

PS. These guides were started by a man named Julian as a result of two medical incidents involving his children during trips abroad (he didn't speak the language, didn't know where to go, who to turn to, etc), so these guides are meant as a way to help people know what to do.

They also contain other information, like hotel info, restaurants, sites to visit, etc.

hey everyone!

i just found this thread - i prefer english speaking doctors too, but it's not so much a problem with the french language for me, as it is more a cultural thing. as i mentioned in another thread, i'm kind of in the minority here in france, as i have a gluten intolerance. so the result is that here in france, a lot of doctors tend to overlook this kind of thing or else they are just not very knowledgeable about it because there are so few people in france who have this problem (as opposed to the UK or the US where it's almost common).

so i have been looking not only for an english speaking doctor, but one who is preferably american or anglophone. i have found one doctor here in paris, whose name i got off the US consulate website, but she is not covered by the french social security system, so the visit itself is quite expensive (by french standards) and it is not reimbursed at all.

You should check out the guide mentioned above - one was recently released for Paris, and there should be at least 20 English speaking doctors listed in there.