Spanish for Healthcare Professionals I 
         !Si hablas a un hombre en un idioma que comprende, llegarás a su cabeza. Si le hablas 
         en su lengua materna, llegarás a su corazón”  - Nelson Mandela 
           Course Instructor:             Alexandra Lopez Vera, PhD  (lopezveraA@cusm.org)
        Course Descrip/on: 
           The primary goal of this course is to develop proficiency in Medical Spanish at the 
        Novice-high level (as established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages 
        Proficiency  Guidelines,  2012).  By  the  end  of  this  course,  students  will  have  a  solid,  basic 
        foundaNon  of  Medical  Spanish  in  order  to  use  the  language  to  facilitate  their  daily 
        interacNons with Spanish-speaking paNents. With this end in mind, the main focus of this 
        course  is  on  meaningful  communicaNon,  which  involves  both  linguisNc  and  cultural 
        knowledge. During the course, students will conNnue to develop their competencies in the 
        four  skills—speaking,  listening,  wriNng,  and  reading—with  a  special  emphasis  on  oral 
        communicaNon. We will cover key grammar structures and relevant vocabulary through a 
        variety of interacNve, contextualized acNviNes. Students will be able to manage successfully a 
        number of uncomplicated communicaNve tasks in medical seTngs. Novice High speakers 
        respond to simple, direct quesNons or requests for informaNon. They will also be able to ask 
        formulaic quesNons to Spanish-speaking paNents.  
           The course Spanish for Healthcare Professionals I will build on skills included in the 
        Clinical Clerkship Handbook to provide paNent care that is compassionate, appropriate, and 
        effecNve for the promoNon of health and the treatment of health-related problems. (EPA 1-7, 
        10-13). 
        Required Materials: 
               MindTap for Spanish for Medical Personnel Enhanced EdiNon: The Basic 
               Spanish Series 24 Months: 
               ISBN:  9780357663929. 
               Ana C. Jarvis/Raquel Lebredo/Francisco Mena-Ayllón (2014). Second 
               Edition. Cengage. 
                            10
      Course Goals: 
        During the course students will encouraged to: 
        ● Work in each session in pairs, small groups, and one-on-one with the instructor to 
          develop their oral skills.    
        ● Write reports, summaries, and prescripNons to improve their wriNng skills. 
        ● Listen to several dialogues relaNng to the medical topics of each chapter to develop 
          their listening skills. 
        ● Read selected medical texts in order to develop their reading skills. 
        ● Develop  cultural  awareness  by  learning  about  hispanic  pracNces  and  perspecNves 
          through readings, dialogues, addiNonal research, a special module dedicated to cultural 
          competency, and presentaNons. 
      Learning Outcomes:  
       By successfully compleNng the course, students will be able to: 
        ● Acquire  basic  Spanish  pronunciaNon,  grammar,  vocabulary  and  structures  that  will 
          facilitate communicaNon with hispanic paNents in medical seTngs. 
        ● Understand basic medical Spanish vocabulary regarding common health concerns. 
        ● Develop a beber understanding of the variaNon in socio-cultural beliefs and 
          pracNces among Spanish-speaking populaNons. 
        ● Improve rapport-building skills with Spanish-speaking paNents. 
        ● ParNcipate in spontaneous Spanish conversaNons and discussions . 
        ● Show self-awareness of own sociocultural competence by reflecNng on the dimensions 
          of empathy, openness, and curiosity. 
      Assessment and Grading Policy: 
          The course will be graded as Pass/Fail. Students are graded under the following system:  
          - Pass: 100-70 (C and above)  
          - Fail: 69-0 (D and below) 
          The assessment and evaluation of the various components of the course is shown below: 
          - Class abendance and parNcipaNon (40%) 
          -  Medical Spanish homework (30%) 
          - Final Medical Encounter Project (30%) 
           
                         11
      Class A?endance and Par/cipa/on (40%): 
          Class abendance is expected. Students will be evaluated on their parNcipaNon daily. 
       ParNcipaNon  includes  being  punctual,  being  prepared,  using  the  target  language  and 
       parNcipaNng  enthusiasNcally  and  abenNvely.  Oral  parNcipaNon  in  all  acNviNes  is  also 
       expected,  since  the  sessions  are  the  only  opportuniNes  you  will  have  to  pracNce  your 
       interpersonal oral skills. Students can only miss 3 large sessions and 3 peer tutor meeNngs 
       per  semester  without  penalty.  StarNng  with  the  fourth  absence,  and  regardless  of  the 
       reasons for the first three, one percentage point will be subtracted from their final course 
       grade for each addiNonal absence. Late arrivals and early departures may also count as 
       absences.  
      Medical Spanish Homework (30%): 
          Students will complete their Medical Spanish homework online. If they have never 
       used the online Medical Spanish plaiorm before, they will need to create an account by 
       clicking on the “Create Account” bubon on the right side of the screen. They will be need a 
       RegistraNon Code. The amount of homework will be moderate. 
      Final Medical Encounter Project (30%): 
           By the end of the course, students will be responsible to work in pairs and submit  a 
      video represenNng a doctor-paNent encounter. This project will assess students’ ability to 
      operate  in  a  Spanish  medical  seTng.  By  including  symptoms  seen  during  the  course,  
      students will cover all the differenNals and   quesNons needed to help with the diagnosis 
      (example: for a problem that involves abdominal pain, students will ask about diarrhea, or 
      onset amer eaNng, etc.). CreaNvity will be rewarded. Complete details and grading rubric will 
      be available on Canvas. 
      Communica/ons:  
          The instructor will respond to inquiries submibed within 24 hours on business days. 
       Weekend inquiries will be answered on Monday in the order that they were received. If you 
       need  addiNonal  help  in  the  form  of  office  hours,  send  an  email  to  the  instructor 
       (lopezveraA@cusm.org) in order to schedule a virtual meeNng. 
                         12
         Sequence: 
           WEEK/DATE                            CONTENTS
                        1                   Introducción al español 
                    7/25/2022 
                     (Session 1)
                        2               Pérdida de peso/ Aumento de peso 
                     8/1/2022 
                     (Session 2)
                        3              Dolor Abdominal/ Revisión de técnicas 
                     8/8/2022                    asépticas 
                     (Session 3)
                                     13