Business & Entrepreneurship   

This introductory course in Spanish is designed for healthcare workers. It provides basic communication and cross-cultural skills in the Spanish language for students to be more confident working in an organization with diverse populations. This includes medical-specific vocabulary and key cultural differences. The emphasis will be on conversational skills that are appropriate in healthcare settings.

Week 1: Getting to know the patient and their symptoms

• Introduce yourself and describe people
• Ask how a patient is feeling, discuss location, and test a patient's orientation
• Use subject pronouns, articles with nouns, and the verbs ser and ester (to be)
• Form and ask questions
• Ask patients about pain levels
• Use vocabulary to identify parts of the boy, clarify symptoms, and inform about minor injuries
• Use doler (to hurt) and tender (to have) in the present tense
• Creat past particples
• Recognize Spanish-speaking culture intoe U.S.
• Recognize how attitudes towards immigrants in the U.S. are shown through language choices
• Compare and contrast everyday expressions in Spanish and English

Week 2: Admission and background information: Family and basic medical history

• Communicate vital signs, take phone messages, make appointments, and conduct a registration review
• Explain the components of a physical examination, clarify the patient's chief complaint, and discuss follow-up tests and bowel habits
• Use vocabulary to discuss family relationships and ask/tell family history
• Use possessive adjectives
• Conjugate regular verbs in the present tense
• Use direct object pronouns
• Use the verb ir (to go; to be going to) to talk about the future
• Conjugate in the present progressive
• Recognize the role of language in culture
• Recognize the Hispanic family structure and culture, and the practice of double last names

Week 3: Give Instructions for medication and diet

• Write medical instructions and educate patients about side effects and allergic reactions
• Talk about food, dietary habits, and give instructions for special diets
• Create formal commands and gise indirect object pronouns
• Use demonstrative, affirmative, and negative adjectives
• Use verbs like guitar, querer, and preferer to express likes and preferences
• Use vocabulary to discuss things that occurred in the past
• Use preterit and imperfect tenses
• Recognize Hispanic diets and regional foods
• Recognize "la Confianza" between yourself and a patient
• Recognize Hispanic home remedies

Week 4: Take full medical history and prepare for procedures and discharge plans

• Communicate diagnoses, teach patients about specific illnesses, educate patients about surgeries and immunizations
• Use the verb padecer and ponerse
• Discuss hospitalization, discharge planning, and activities of daily living
• Conduct a neurological exam
• Use reflexive verbs and the "se" construction
• Recognize the challenges in mental health that can be faced/caused by immigration
• Recognize how to help a patient "feel at home"

Required Book - An Introduction to Medical Spanish, 5^th ed. by Chase and Medina de Chase from Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300226027.  They are $30 - $90 on Amazon

While learning how to safely use the wood turning lathe, you will craft a pen or seam ripper (your choice) under the instruction of Greg Wood.  At the end of the class, you will take home a beautiful handmade piece of your own.