Course Catalog

 
06-459 ADVANCED MEDICAL SPANISH
Department PEDIATRICS Campus Birmingham
Course Type(s) Co-enrolled Elective Facility
Course Director MARIA RUEDA-ALTEZ, MD Enrollment Limit 15
Contact MARIA RUEDA-ALTEZ, MD Enrollment Minimum 4
Email mruedaaltez@uabmc.edu Address CHB 308
Phone (205) 638-2431 Fax
Weeks
Normally Offered
See Offering Dates
Prerequisites * * * WRITTEN APPROVAL REQUIRED * * * Sessions will largely be conducted in Spanish: a conversational level of Spanish fluency is expected for this course. 
Specific Clerkship Prerequisites:
Visiting Students
No LCME students accepted.
No osteopathic students accepted.
Course Description Over the course of a semester, students will learn about language barriers and the importance of providing culturally competent healthcare with an advanced-level, Spanishcentered approach. Students will attend sessions led by UAB faculty exploring patient cases across multiple specialties and organ systems. Sessions will also explore key aspects of history taking and counseling about common medical conditions across different specialties, the role of medical interpreters, and the obstacles posed by language barriers. In addition to lectures, students will either observe real-world interpreters or serve in local clinics to develop their own communication skills. Sessions will also include case discussions and simulated patient encounters while receiving guidance and feedback from instructors. Students will practice patient care entirely in Spanish. At the end of the course, students may elect to take a provider certification exam, which may empower them to act as certified bilingual healthcare providers. Sessions will largely be conducted in Spanish: a conversational level of Spanish fluency is expected for this course.
Where To Report Volker Hall on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm
Requirements Due to small-group sessions and the emphasis on exposure to advanced medical Spanish,
in-person attendance and participation are required. Students may be excused from
mandatory activities or examinations with proper documentation and approval through the
Heersink SOM Absence Notification System. Two or more absences during the course may
result in a withdrawal or failing grade unless otherwise reviewed and approved by the
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education or the Assistant Dean for Clinical
Education. Should a student have an excused absence that prevents them from attending
one weekly session, no makeup assignment is required, and no grade deduction will be
applied.
Evaluation 1. Students will connect with a faculty member and write an essay about a language-based
health disparity in their specialty (in Spanish)
2. Continual feedback and evaluation by instructors during conversational practice and
simulated case-based sessions
3. Attendance of sessions and interpreter/shadowing shifts
4. Optional: Should they feel prepared, students are encouraged to take the Spanish medical
interpreter certification and/or Spanish provider exam
Notes