Medical Spanish

Purpose and Rationale for the Course: According to the United States Census Bureau, Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in US homes at 62% (2019) and in Washington DC, 8.9% of people speak Spanish at home (2023). This number represents a growing and often vulnerable population that current medical students will be serving. When used in coordination with formalized Spanish interpreter services, a working knowledge of medical Spanish can improve communication and treatment of Latino patients.

Description: This is an online two-week elective course offered to medical students that have completed the pre-clinical coursework. The course is run through Canopy, an online medical Spanish course designed for medical professionals and developed with funding from NIH that is authorized to award CME credits. This course provides students with an intensive introduction to medical Spanish. It is anticipated that students will require approximately 45 hours of time to complete all of the learning activities and assessments. There is additional information added to the course that gives students information on how to access and use trained medical interpreters. By the end of the course, students should have a basic knowledge of the language of medical Spanish.

Course Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Apply medical Spanish in taking a medical and social history; conducting a physical exam; assessing chronic medical conditions; counselling on medication use; and making recommendations about lifestyle habits.
2. Recognize how to use and access trained language interpreters while on medical rotations.

Target Students: Third and fourth year medical students interested in working with Latino communities.

Requirements: The requirements for the course are to complete the 3 levels of the online Canopy Medical Spanish course AND the reflection paper. The reflection paper assignment can be found in Blackboard. Students should upload screenshots of the completed certificates in your name under the Canopy Certificate Assignment in the Blackboard course. The class is entirely online and completed at your own pace (see completion deadlines below). The class does NOT meet in person.

Completion Deadlines: Students should aim to complete the course requirements within their 2 week enrollment period if possible but are permitted to complete within the semester of enrollment if more time is needed. Course requirements must be completed and uploaded to Blackboard by the semester deadlines below. If a student needs an extension beyond the semester deadline they should inquire with course director.

• FALL SEMESTER (July through December): Due date for completion of course requirements is the end of the Fall semester (end of week 27, in December) for all students enrolled in the Fall semester.
• SPRING SEMESTER (January through June): Due date for completion of course requirements is June 30, with the following earlier due dates required for graduating fourth year students: 
  • Due date is April 15 for all graduating students enrolled in the Spring semester, except for students enrolled for weeks 42-45.
  • Due date for graduating students scheduled in weeks 42-43 is the end of week 43.
  • Due date for graduating students scheduled in weeks 44-45 is the end of week 45.