Evaluation of a Medical Spanish Elective for Senior Medical Students: Improving Outcomes through OSCE Assessments

Ortega, Pilar; Park, Yoon Soo; Girotti, Jorge A.

doi:10.1007/s40670-017-0405-5

Cited by 25 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Many factors may contribute to this improvement, such as frequency of language use in personal and professional settings, travel to countries where the language is spoken, and additional courses taken since graduating from HMS. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that in general, the self-reported langauge proficiency of alumni improved since taking the course, supporting other reports that have shown improvement in the oral proficiency of students before and after taking medical language courses [ 18 – 20 ]. Acknowledging that it has been several decades since some respondents took a medical language course at HMS, we cannot conclude that the courses alone are responsible for the increase in proficiency.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…However, there is no current estimate of how many schools offer non-Spanish medical language courses. Students who take Medical Spanish courses have shown improvements in listening comprehension skills, oral fluency, and comfort level working with Spanish-speaking patients [ 18 – 20 ]. In addition, a national survey found that 85% of medical students and trainees are interested in improving their Medical Spanish skills, suggesting that there is strong motivation to provide language-concordant care amongst trainees [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Professional language use by alumni of the Harvard Medical School Medical Language Program

et al. 2020

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Background Despite the growing number of patients with limited English proficiency in the United States, not all medical schools offer medical language courses to train future physicians in practicing language-concordant care. Little is known about the long-term use of non-English languages among physicians who took language courses in medical school. We conducted a cross-sectional study to characterize the professional language use of Harvard Medical School (HMS) alumni who took a medical language course at HMS and identify opportunities to improve the HMS Medical Language Program. Methods Between October and November 2019, we sent an electronic survey to 803 HMS alumni who took a medical language course at HMS between 1991 and 2019 and collected responses. The survey had questions about the language courses and language use in the professional setting. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and McNemar’s test for comparing proportions with paired data. The study was determined not to constitute human subjects research. Results The response rate was 26% (206/803). More than half of respondents (n = 118, 57%) cited their desire to use the language in their future careers as the motivation for taking the language courses. Twenty-eight (14%) respondents indicated a change from not proficient before taking the course to proficient at the time of survey whereas only one (0.5%) respondent changed from proficient to not proficient (McNemar’s p-value < 0.0001). Respondents (n = 113, 56%) reported that clinical electives abroad influenced their cultural understanding of the local in-country population and their language proficiency. Only 13% (n = 27) of respondents have worked in a setting that required formal assessments of non-English language proficiency. Conclusions HMS alumni of the Medical Language Program reported improved language proficiency after the medical language courses’ conclusion, suggesting that the courses may catalyze long-term language learning. We found that a majority of respondents reported that the medical language courses influenced their desire to work with individuals who spoke the language of the courses they took. Medical language courses may equip physicians to practice language-concordant care in their careers.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional language use by alumni of the Harvard Medical School Medical Language Program

et al. 2020

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“…The formal elective is designed to provide 2 weeks (80 h) of official credit spread out over a 10-week longitudinal elective, in which students have a 2-h evening lecture weekly, but have multiple self-study multimedia and grammar/vocabulary exercise components, 17 patient interview requirements, mid- and end-course objective structured clinical examinations with trained standardized patients (SPs), and cultural research spread out over the course. 18…”

Section: Curricular Models For Dedicated Medical Spanishmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eighty-nine percent of follow-up respondents reported that the elective was useful for their intern year, and 97.3% reported that they would recommend the course to other fourth-year medical students. 18 To accommodate student need, a new 2-week intensive course will be piloted in the near future at UICOM, in which the curriculum will be condensed into a shorter time period, but students will dedicate to medical Spanish material full-time for the 2 weeks of the course.…”

Section: Curricular Models For Dedicated Medical Spanishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for Teaching Linguistic Preparedness for Physicians: Medical Spanish and Global Linguistic Competence in Undergraduate Medical Education

et al. 2019

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In accordance with Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) curriculum content standards, medical schools are expected to teach physician communication skills and cultural competence. Given the sustained U.S. Spanish-speaking population growth, importance of language in diagnosis, and benefits of patient–physician language concordance, addressing LCME standards equitably should involve linguistic preparedness education. The authors present strategies for implementation of linguistic preparedness education in medical schools by discussing (1) examples of institutional approaches to dedicated medical Spanish courses that meet best practice guidelines and (2) a partnership model with medical interpreters to implement integrated global linguistic competencies in undergraduate medical curricula.

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“…Regardless of their cultural background or knowledge-base, providers who treat the Latino population may have never been exposed to communication skills education to address the healthcare needs of this patient population in their preferred language. Medical Spanish programs exist at some medical institutions but mostly target practicing health professionals, medical students, or residents [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a Spanish Health Topics Course for Undergraduate Pre-health Latino Students

Ortega¹,

Park²,

Rodriguez

et al. 2019

Cureus

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Introduction: Language concordance between doctors and patients and increased matriculation of underrepresented minorities in medical school are commonly cited goals of medical centers and medical schools in addressing health disparities for individuals with limited English proficiency. Pre-medical education may represent a high-yield untapped opportunity to address both through a Spanish Health Topics, or Temas de Salud, course for Latino pre-health students. Methods: The authors implemented a longitudinal course for pre-health, Latino, undergraduate students to prepare them for success in bilingual health careers. The course included educational components of health knowledge, Spanish terminology, Hispanic/Latino sociocultural context, and exposure to medical learning formats presented during monthly sessions spread out over two years. A post-course survey with comfort and knowledge assessments was administered after each one-year cycle of the program. Results: One hundred and sixteen students (57%) out of 203 course-participants responded to the Spanish Health Topics course survey. The student comfort level and self-perceived knowledge about specific health issues increased for both students of native-level Spanish and less advanced fluency, though a larger improvement was noted in several health topics for native speakers. Eighty-five percent of students reported perceiving the class to be useful for their future careers, and 92% of respondents indicated having applied learned concepts in social and/or academic settings outside of class.Discussion: Most students reported benefits of the course. Future studies should focus on a more detailed evaluation of enrolled students’ knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and long-term retention compared to students in a standard premedical path. Temas de Salud may enhance the bilingual, bicultural skillset of Latino underrepresented minorities in medicine, and can be replicated at other institutions.

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Evaluation of a Medical Spanish Elective for Senior Medical Students: Improving Outcomes through OSCE Assessments

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

Professional language use by alumni of the Harvard Medical School Medical Language Program

Professional language use by alumni of the Harvard Medical School Medical Language Program

Strategies for Teaching Linguistic Preparedness for Physicians: Medical Spanish and Global Linguistic Competence in Undergraduate Medical Education

Evaluation of a Spanish Health Topics Course for Undergraduate Pre-health Latino Students

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