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Bilingual Health Scholarly ConcentrationGraduating Healthcare Professionals Literate in Medical Spanish

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The Bilingual Health Scholarly Concentration (BHSC) introduces medical students to medical knowledge in Spanish across the four years of medical school. It is one-of-a-kind because it broadens the student’s communication skills and their capacity to serve their patient population.

The student may pursue the BHSC alone or share two credits from the partnered concentrations listed below under Curriculum.

Students graduate with:

  • Experience utilizing Spanish medical terminology in patient education and care.
  • Certificate of completion and recognition in the commencement program.
  • Graduation chord.


Norma A. Pérez Raifaisen, MD, DrPH, CPC, ELI-MP
Director, Bilingual Health Scholarly Concentration


Curriculum


Salud Para Todos Calendar

Session

Date

Grammar Topic

Clinical Application

Cultural Topic

1

10/13/23*

Pronunciation, Accents

Patient Introductions

Greetings/Politeness

2

10/23/23

Gender, Plurality, Intro to Verbs (infinitive)

Taking Vitals

Respect and Formality

3

11/6/23

Regular Present Tense

Working with an Interpreter

Punctuality

4

11/27/23**

Conjugating Ser, Doler, Tener, and Poder

HPI 1 (OLDCAARTS)

Expressiveness, Common Expressions

5

1/5/24*

Irregular Present Tense

HPI 2 (OLDCAARTS)

Folk Illnesses

6

1/15/24

Preterite Tense

ROS, PMH, Surgical Hx

Clinician-Patient Relationship

7

1/29/24

Reflexive Verbs, Impersonal Se

Medication Hx, Alternative Therapies

Natural Remedies

8

2/12/24

Imperfect Tense

Allergies, 

Preventive Care

Familialismo

9

2/26/24

Direct and Indirect Objects

Family Hx, Social Hx 1

Religion/Spirituality

10

3/11/24

Commands

Social Hx 2

Food/Dietary Advice

11

3/25/24

N/A

OSCE 1

N/A

12

4/8/24***

N/A

OSCE 2

N/A

*All class meeting dates are Monday. Sessions 1 and 5 will meet on Friday.

**Session 4 will meet on Monday during the week of the MCT final exam for MS1s.

***Session 12 will meet on Monday during the week of the POM1 final exam for MS1s.


Partners

¡Hola! Are you a student looking to expand your language skills and effectively communicate with Spanish-speaking patients? Look no further than Salud Para Todos! Our 12-week program is designed to help you learn patient interviews and physical exams in Spanish. Join us every other week during lunchtime for a one-hour session that combines didactic teaching with mentor-led practice. Our bilingual mentors will role-play as Spanish-speaking patients, allowing you to practice your language proficiency in a safe and supportive environment. Whether you're a beginner or already have some Spanish knowledge, Salud Para Todos is tailored to meet your needs and enhance your medical career. Help us bridge the gap and better serve the Spanish-speaking community here in Galveston and throughout your career as a health care professional. If you are already bilingual, or confident in your Spanish-speaking abilities, we would love to have you be a mentor. You can help your peers practice and learn how to better serve the Spanish speaking community.

We have also joined up with the Bilingual Health Scholarly Concentration (BHSC) and our student-led course is now an official part of the BHSC curriculum. If you are pursuing the BHSC, then successful completion of the course will count as one of your 5 required points for the scholarly concentration!

 


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