Demographic predictions include a growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Provision of linguistic-concordant care improves health outcomes for individuals. We would like to introduce students at the Fort Collins branch to medical Spanish to improve their comfort level with communicating with patients and community partners. We are aware of over 20 US allopathic medical schools (including CUSOM at the Anschutz campus) that offer Medical Spanish training.
This weekly one hour class seeks to increase Fort Collins Branch first year medical student comfort level with interacting with Spanish-speaking patients. It is intended to be a precursor to clinical or community settings where they may work directly with Spanish-speaking patients. We also hope to introduce the students to the work being done at the CSU satellite campus in Todos Santos, and begin to brainstorm One Health-related opportunities for an immersion experience later in their training.
Overarching goals for this course:
Students should improve upon basic medical Spanish communication skills regarding common health concerns. They will learn about benefits of learning Spanish for future clinical careers, and explore opportunities for a One Health-related immersion experience. Students will recognize the importance of cultural competency as an integral component of language acquisition.
