Medical Spanish Programs in the United States: A Critical Review of Published Studies and a Proposal of Best Practices

Hardin, Karol J.; Hardin, Don

doi:10.1080/10401334.2013.827974

Cited by 39 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…4 The finding that medical Spanish courses vary considerably regarding teaching modalities and instructor qualifications is consistent with a review by Hardin and Hardin in 2013, in which the authors reviewed 23 published studies of medical Spanish curricula. 39…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Medical Spanish to Improve Population Health: Evidence for Incorporating Language Education and Assessment in U.S. Medical Schools

et al. 2019

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Introduction: Language concordance between patients and physicians is an important factor in providing safe and effective health care, with Spanish as the predominant and fastest growing non-English language in the United Sates. However, despite increasing demand for medical Spanish education, valid concerns about inadvertently increasing provider use of limited Spanish with patients, lack of knowledge of best practice in education and assessment, and lack of institutional support still present barriers to medical Spanish education in medical schools. Methods: The authors conducted a narrative review of existing literature that evaluates the link between medical Spanish education of physicians and language concordance. Results: Medical Spanish educational efforts, although increasing, are not consistently linked to learner assessment. The literature to date supports that for medical Spanish education to improve patient outcomes, it should be linked to assessment methodology that demonstrates improvement in language concordance with Spanishspeaking patients, and should include safety measures to prevent inadvertent communication errors. The authors review data for published medical Spanish postcourse language assessment strategies and provide recommendations to ensure responsible and competent use of medical Spanish skills. Conclusion: The authors propose three structural elements that should be considered when incorporating or enhancing medical Spanish education in medical schools: institutional endorsement of the role of medical Spanish education within a national health disparities context; precourse proficiency testing to establish student starting level; and learner postcourse communications skills and limitations assessment to provide individualized recommendations and assure patient safety.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Medical Spanish to Improve Population Health: Evidence for Incorporating Language Education and Assessment in U.S. Medical Schools

et al. 2019

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“…Medical students are often placed in situations where they must care for limited English proficient (LEP) patients [1]. As medical students prepare for residency training and independent practice, they must face the prospect of the growing LEP patient population juxtaposed with the lack of linguistically appropriate services at many medical centers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research has shown that provider-patient language concordance leads to improved health outcomes [6], reduced medical errors of significance [7], and improved patient satisfaction [8]. Despite the increasing need for culturally and linguistically competent physicians [9, 10], and the student and institutional demand for Spanish language education, there is currently no standardized curriculum that addresses students’ Spanish skills in U.S. medical schools, including performance-based assessments of non-English-speaking patient encounters [1, 6]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2017

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Background There is no standardized curriculum or assessment method that addresses Spanish skills in U.S. medical schools. The authors implemented a 10-week Clinical Medical Spanish elective for fourth-year medical students. Methods Data were collected for 58 students from 2013 to 2015 pertaining to pre- and post-course self-evaluation of Medical Spanish comfort level and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations. Results Student comfort level with Spanish-speaking patients improved for performing history and examination skills (P < 0.05). Standardized Patient (SP) and faculty-rated fluency were each higher than the student self-rated pre-course fluency (P < 0.001). Fluency levels were higher than the faculty rating of student ability to perform the medical interview (P < .001). Discussion Differences in student self-rating, SP scores, and faculty assessment illustrate the complexities of assessing medical skills in a second language, and highlight the importance of training and evaluating medical students and hospital staff in the appropriate use of Medical Spanish.

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“…University language courses play a crucial role in promoting “what counts” as medical language, and thus, it is fundamental for medical schools to develop alliances with critical language scholars who can help students (and more often than not, faculty members) debunk the notion that the so-called academic language is the only way to convey scientific notions. Therefore, institutions can help keep medical language education up to date with evolving local, regional, national, and global linguistic realities by promoting collaborative educational research and team-teaching between professionals in medicine and those in applied linguistics [ 18 ] and by regularly assessing specific outcomes measures [ 19 ], including faculty and learner attitudes and ideologies with regards to combining community vernaculars—such as the so called Spanglish, Chinglish and Hinglish, as well as regionalisms of health-related terms—into patient communication.…”

Section: Integration Of Translanguaging In Medical Education Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Words matter: Translanguaging in medical communication skills training

Ortega¹,

Prada

2020

Perspect Med Educ

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Medical communication across languages is gaining attention as the multilingual character of local, regional, and national populations across the world continues to grow. Effectively communicating with patients involves not only learning medical terminology, but also understanding the community's linguistic practices, and gaining the ability to explain health concepts in patient-centered language. Language concordance between physicians and patients improves patient outcomes, but methods to teach communication skills for physicians are usually limited to the majority or official language. For example, in U.S. medical schools increased demand for physician skills in other languages, such as Spanish, has resulted in renewed academic discourse about best practices in teaching practical communication skills for physicians. In language education, translanguaging is an approach that integrates and validates multilingual individuals' real use of language, which often includes non-standard words, regionalisms, and mixed influences from multiple languages, such as Spanglish or Chinglish. Efforts to improve medical language concordance by teaching a second language to medical students would benefit from an understanding of patient-centered communication strategies, such as is supported by translanguaging. Teaching effective communication skills to physicians should evolve and engage with the fluid linguistic at

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Medical Spanish Programs in the United States: A Critical Review of Published Studies and a Proposal of Best Practices

Abstract: There is a significant need for effective medical Spanish programs based on solid SLA principles and research methods.

Cited by 39 publications

References 30 publications

Teaching Medical Spanish to Improve Population Health: Evidence for Incorporating Language Education and Assessment in U.S. Medical Schools

Teaching Medical Spanish to Improve Population Health: Evidence for Incorporating Language Education and Assessment in U.S. Medical Schools

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

Words matter: Translanguaging in medical communication skills training

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