Intermediate Medical Spanish

 

Course Director:  Marco Aleman, MD  maleman@med.unc.edu

Course Instructor:  Elizabeth Tolman, PhD  eely@email.unc.edu

Location:  Medical School

Participants:  Medical students at the intermediate level

 

This course was designed to help combat what has become a huge problem in today's health care industry in North Carolina: how best to serve the Spanish speaking population.  As a result of difficulties with communication, concern with legal ramifications, and fear of being treated with disrespect, many non-English speaking patients enter the health care system only when they are in dire need of medical help. 

Medical students will likely encounter patients who risk misdiagnosis because of the care providers' lack of ability to communicate with them.  This course is designed to help to alleviate this problem.

 

Unless the students are already fluent in Spanish, this course will not enable students to conduct patient exams or do procedures without the aid of an interpreter.  By the end of the semester, however, students will be able to conduct simple tasks in Spanish and to elicit critical medical information from their patients.  The nine classes center on grammar, medical vocabulary, and cultural information designed to help students work with patients.  Each class also has as its goal a practical lesson, such as conducting a physical exam or taking a social history. Twice during the semester students will have the opportunity to practice their skills on actual Spanish speakers brought in to play the role of patients.  An interpreter will also come to class once during the semester to talk with students about best practice in working with an interpreter.