Marymount University Supports Students with Medical Spanish Scholarships
The Center for Global Education at Marymount University supported their students who aspire to work in healthcare-related fields with Latinx Patient scholarships.
Our organization recognizes Marymount University for its contribution of six scholarships for our Latinx Patient: Spanish & Culture virtual program. This fall, their Center for Global Education has supported their students who aspire to work in healthcare-related fields.
These scholarship recipients from Marymount University will learn how to support the underserved Latinx community that has shown a need for healthcare workers who have the language skills and cultural knowledge to support Latinx patients. The Center for Global Education has provided these select students an opportunity to gain new perspective as they prepare to enter their respective careers connected to healthcare.
Read on to learn more about their institution’s motivation and passion for supporting their students!
Jennifer Crystle, Marymount University’s Center for Global Education, Associate Director
Marymount is proud to be recognized as an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Earlier this year, Marymount launched the “Avanzamos” initiative to formalize our efforts to continue to support our growing Hispanic student population and an inclusive campus community. In order to support this initiative, the Center for Global Education is turning its attention to the internationalization of the Marymount curriculum. We are specifically considering ways to ensure that our language offerings meet the needs of our students and prepare them for work and life in an increasingly global world.
Victor Belancourt, Marymount University’s Center for Global Education, Executive Director
We are excited to partner with EdOdyssey to offer Marymount students the opportunity to earn a certificate in Medical Spanish. In order to show our support for these types of language initiatives, the Center for Global Education has offered six full scholarships for students to complete the certificate program this fall.
As part of the program, students will learn approaches to the uses of Spanish language in real, relevant healthcare scenarios and gain a deeper understanding of medical practices and public health factors involving Hispanic patients. With our strong programs in Nursing and Health professions, the Medical Spanish certificate will allow students to further distinguish themselves in competitive healthcare fields.
Amidst a global pandemic, Marymount University’s has directly addressed the need for better patient support for the at-risk Latinx community. According to Amanda Machado, below are two important reasons why the need for this support is so dire:
More than one-fourth of Latino adults in the United States lack a usual healthcare provider and almost half of Latinos never visit a medical professional during the course of the year.
Latinos are more likely than members of other groups to delay healthcare for an illness or drop out of treatment when symptoms disappear.
These Latinx patients need more support, and with that in mind, current and aspiring medical professionals in the field will need to be prepared for the future of healthcare. Massachusetts General Hospital Primary Care Physician, Carolina Abuelo, reported in August 2020 that the need and demand for healthcare workers with Medical Spanish language competencies is more important now than ever:
“The U.S. Census Bureau projects that Hispanic people will comprise nearly 25% of the U.S. population by 2045. Yet nationwide, the proportion of physicians who identify themselves as Spanish-speaking is less than 6%.”
“Language and cultural barriers are compounding trauma for populations who are already disproportionately enduring the pandemic. At Massachusetts General Hospital, we went from seeing approximately 10% Spanish-language patients to more than 50% during a surge in April.”
We want to thank the Global Center for Education at Marymount University again for their contribution and their passion for supporting the Latinx Patient: Spanish & Culture for Healthcare program.
Is your school or institution also seeking ways to provide students more access to meaningful virtual, global programming? Please contact us here if you wish to learn more about our Latinx program or if you wish to collaborate with us for future semesters!
Sources:
Abuelo, Carolina. “The U.S. Needs More Spanish-Speaking Doctors” https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2020-08-25/why-we-need-more-spanish-speaking-doctors 25, August, 2020.
Machado, Amanda. “Why Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor” https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/05/why-many-latinos-dread-going-to-the-doctor/361547/ 7, May, 2020.
Cultural Modules for Medical Spanish: The Importance of Cultural Context in Treating a Latinx Patient
Anyone who speaks more than one language can tell you that vocabulary and terminology are not the only things that change when communicating with someone in a different tongue: cultural knowledge and context are crucial to effective and accurate communication. This is certainly true for many Latinx communities in the United States. Along with the English-Spanish language barrier, cultural differences and fear of cultural misunderstandings also hinder communication for Latinx people and can make reaching out for help especially difficult.
Anyone who speaks more than one language can tell you that vocabulary and terminology are not the only things that change when communicating with someone in a different tongue: cultural knowledge and context are crucial to effective and accurate communication. This is certainly true for many Latinx communities in the United States. Along with the English-Spanish language barrier, cultural differences and fear of cultural misunderstandings also hinder communication for Latinx people and can make reaching out for help especially difficult.
This issue is especially prevalent in the American healthcare system, where the options to find doctors fluent in Spanish or call an interpreter to relay information is not enough to make many Latinx people feel comfortable visiting a hospital. This is where cultural competence makes a difference: a culturally-informed healthcare professional will be better able to understand patients and handle their cases more effectively. Learn how you can increase your cultural competence alongside your Spanish skills by understanding not only why cultural knowledge matters for treating Latinx patients, but also how cultural values and expectations for healthcare affect the Latinx community’s experience in the American healthcare system!
HOW PEOPLE FROM LATINX COMMUNITIES ADDRESS HEALTH ISSUES
In the United States, people from the Latinx community are less likely to get proper healthcare, whether in the form of routine checkups or more advanced treatments for specific injuries or health issues. According to a 2014 article from The Atlantic, “Latinos are the racial and ethnic group least likely to visit the doctor. More than one-fourth of Latino adults in the United States lack a usual healthcare provider and almost half of Latinos never visit a medical professional during the course of the year.” (Machado Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor)
While some attribute the smaller numbers of Latinx people enrolled in American healthcare to factors such as eligibility status or income, there are other reasons people from Latinx communities might not go to the hospital. Amanda Machado, the author of the article, writes that many Latinx people who qualify for medical benefits and can afford their medical bills can also be reluctant to see a doctor. She concludes that since Latinx communities are still less likely to get medical treatment regardless socioeconomic statuses, there must be a larger overarching reason why this is the case: culture.
Machado cites several anecdotes about the custom of self-medication in Latinx communities. She writes that people from Latinx countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru turn to homemade remedies derived from plants to treat ailments instead of asking doctors for medical advice and picking up medicine from pharmacies. In her words, “These traditions still hold strong in many parts of Latin America today, providing many Latinos with a family custom of treating yourself without a professional doctor’s help.” (Machado Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor)
In the cultural modules of the Medical Spanish and Latinx Culture course, you will learn about specific myths and beliefs people from Latinx countries hold about certain herbal remedies. You will also gain insight on other ways people from Latinx communities self-medicate for their symptoms.
CULTURAL STRUGGLES OF LATINX PATIENTS IN HEALTHCARE
The traditional reliance on natural cures is not the only reason many Latinx people do not go to the doctor; for many people from Latinx countries, there is a different cultural ideal for a doctor-patient relationship that Machado describes as “personal, welcoming, and concerned for the individual as a whole.” (Machado Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor) She adds that because many doctors do not get to spend much time for each appointment and “lack time to establish relationships with patients,” many Latinx people find American doctors “untrustworthy” and their interactions with them “uncomfortable.” (Machado Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor)
As a result, many people in the Latinx community do not feel comfortable disclosing information such as symptoms and other health issues with doctors. In order to encourage patients to speak openly about their health with doctors, it is important for healthcare students and professionals to help make hospital visits more comfortable for Latinx people and to foster positive relationships similar to the ones that are the cultural ideal in Latinx countries.
Being aware of this cultural expectation is the first step to making American healthcare more welcoming to Latinx patients.
Making patients feel comfortable in medical settings is crucial to the health of the larger Latinx community. Many Latinx people have health conditions that require medical attention but are unwilling to get treatment from someone who does not understand their culture. This drives some patients to go to extreme lengths to find a doctor from the same ethnicity or from a similar background.
One of the Latinx people that Machado interviews for The Atlantic shares that her mother “would wait five hours in a waiting room to see a Latino doctor...rather than visit a non-Hispanic physician” because she wanted the level of confianza, or trust, that you feel with someone Hispanic.” (Machado Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor)
This is where EdOdyssey’s partnership with El Sol, a certified language school based in Lima, Peru, provides valuable insight into the confianza, or confidence, that Latinx patients look for in their doctors. Not only will your language instructors teach you important words to use when speaking to patients in Spanish, but they will also provide you with an opportunity to learn about healthcare directly from a Latinx perspective - all of El Sol’s educators are Latinx themselves and will teach you about Latinx healthcare from experience.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING CULTURE ALONGSIDE LANGUAGE
EdOdyssey’s Medical Spanish and Latinx Culture course is not just any online class - it is a program that infuses key cultural aspects with vocabulary specialized for medical settings. As Machado writes in the end of her article, “Healthcare workers can address these issues by offering their services on a sliding scale and translating health information into Spanish.
But healthcare professionals also need to be aware of the cultural values that Latino patients find significant.” (Machado Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor) Learning about Latinx culture and understanding how it relates to healthcare for the Latinx population is crucial to creating culturally-competent medical professionals who can make Latinx patients feel comfortable and confident in their care.
Participants in this program will gain a holistic and culturally-informed perspective on healthcare for the Latinx community through expert educators who know and live the Latinx medical experience. You will learn about how some Latinx communities turn to self-medication instead of professional evaluation for health issues to why many Latinx patients feel uncomfortable with the lack of the close doctor-patient relationship that is expected in Latin-American countries.
Additionally, you will be making great progress toward becoming a culturally-competent healthcare professional!
Want to learn more about the program?
Sources
Machado, Amanda. “Why Many Latinos Dread Going to the Doctor.” The Atlantic, Atlantic
Media Company, 7 May 2014, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/05/why-many-latinos-dread-going-to-the-doctor/361547/.
How Medical Spanish & Latinx Patient Knowledge Supports Healthcare Students & Professionals
Learning medical terminology in Spanish will help YOU serve OTHERS to ensure their health and safety. Multilingualism is becoming increasingly recognized as vital within healthcare and fields requiring professionals to understand medical needs of hispanic populations.
Learning medical terminology in Spanish will help you serve others to ensure their health and safety. Multilingualism is becoming increasingly recognized as vital within healthcare and fields requiring professionals to understand medical needs of hispanic populations.
This program on the Latinx Patient: Spanish and Culture for Healthcare will provide participants with necessary cultural and language skills. These skills will make them more impactful in the field of medicine and healthcare in the future, as well as the means to become more invaluable to your peers and your organization.
Continue reading to learn more about how this program can play an integral role in your future medical-related career and contributions to improving health care for all people, particularly the Latinx community, in the United States.
MULTILINGUALISM IN HEALTHCARE
The World Health Organization has a page on their website that is dedicated to the importance of Multilingualism, and reads: “Multilingual communication bridges gaps and fosters understanding between people. It allows WHO to more effectively guide public health practices, reach out to international audiences, and achieve better health outcomes worldwide. In this way, multilingual communication is an essential tool for improving global health.” (World Health Organization)
The WHO is dedicated to pursuing a continuous Multilingual Action Plan to make materials and information more accessible to people who need them around the world. EdOdyssey echoes this vital global need for multilingual healthcare and resources. Specifically in the U.S., there is a need for Spanish-speaking healthcare professionals capable of supporting the growing hispanic population.
In our Latinx Patient: Spanish and Culture for Healthcare program, you’ll increase your Spanish-speaking confidence and you’ll engage in conversations with Peruvian teachers and medical interpreters. One day, you too can work to support hispanic populations in the U.S., and work toward better health outcomes nation-wide.
MEDICAL SPANISH: A CAREER BOOST
This program is about both helping YOU become the best version of yourself, and positioning you to best serve OTHERS in the future. Below are three key ways in which the Latinx Patient: Spanish and Culture for Healthcare program will give you tangible career boosts for the future.
Stand Out Amongst Your Peers: Become a standout applicant for internships, jobs, or volunteer opportunities. The completion of this program and the earning of a certificate from El Sol Spanish Language School in Lima, Peru, will demonstrate to future employers that you took the effort to go beyond the required academic path, and that you can bring a unique and highly needed cultural competence to the workplace.
Prepare Now For the Future: As you learn medical terminology now, you will gain knowledge that you can use through your healthcare career. You will not have to cram additional language learning on top of rigorous medical school or health professions schooling in the future. Plan ahead and work smarter, not harder.
Wider Range of Job Opportunities: You will be able to serve a larger range of people. Linguistic and cultural competency will likely expand the range of your potential future job opportunities. Some communities, particularly those with high Spanish-speaking immigrant populations, will be specifically looking for bilingual physicians and healthcare professionals.
BEING A BETTER PATIENT ADVOCATE
When you have a more advanced medical Spanish vocabulary and cultural understanding, you will enhance your ability to serve the growing latino population in the United States. You will be well positioned to help people feel understood and cared for while receiving high quality healthcare. Additionally, you will avoid miscommunications with native Spanish speakers.
Beyond solely the language component, your newly gained context of common illnesses and trends among hispanic and immigrant patients will help you better serve and advocate for patients. As you gain more cultural and linguistic knowledge, your background will serve as a crucial step to bridging communication gaps between patients and healthcare professionals.
Your knowledge learned through Medical Spanish will put you in a better position to play a more impactful role in the outcome of someone’s medical care.
FEELING OF FULFILLMENT
When your skills learned during this course are put to the test with actual patients, an immense sense of fulfillment will likely follow. By putting in the upfront hard work to learn the vocabulary and cultural knowledge, you have positioned yourself to best serve others who may otherwise lack proper care due to their lack of English language proficiency.
Doctors, nurses, administrators, volunteers, researchers, social workers, psychologists, and healthcare workers alike all can better care for their patients by helping them feel heard and understood. Throughout medical related fields, the rising need for practitioners and professionals who speak both English and Spanish will be accompanied by the need for these people to possess cultural knowledge, or direct experience, surrounding Latino communities.
The diverse U.S. population calls for a healthcare field which cares for and supports people of all backgrounds and English proficiencies. This course will position you not only for personal success within the healthcare field, but also to better serve vulnerable communities that need you most.
Want to learn more about the program?
Understanding Why Medical Spanish and Hispanic Cultural Knowledge Matters in Healthcare
The need for Spanish speaking professionals continues to rise, and students and professionals who want to prepare for the future of healthcare will require training that combines language, culture and best practices.
The need for Spanish speaking professionals continues to rise, and students and professionals who want to prepare for the future of healthcare will require training that combines language, culture and best practices. The Latinx Patient: Spanish and Culture for Healthcare program will be taught online by Peruvian professionals. They will fuse learning of critical Spanish vocabulary related to the medical field with cultural contextualization of Latin American immigrant populations in the U.S.
When you combine language learning with cultural modules, you develop a wider context that will help you continue developing into a more well rounded professional. If you are or want to become a physician, health care professional, social worker, and/or a professional prepared to best handle the needs of Spanish-speaking patients, this program is perfect for you.
Possessing knowledge surrounding Latin American and Latinx culture enables students to better interact with and support non-English speakers, particularly including immigrants and those of Latin American heritage. During the program, you’ll learn more about how medical care improves from a holistic understanding of the patient, and how YOU can be an integral part of such care.
LATINO POPULATION GROWTH IN THE U.S.
A key goal of The Latinx Patient: Spanish and Culture for Healthcare program is to provide students with the knowledge and preliminary resources to best serve patients or clients who are part of the growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States. While the annual growth of the Hispanic population in the US has slowed since 2015, “Latinos remain an important part of the nation’s overall demographic story”, making up about 18% of the total U.S. population, according to PEW research.
The knowledge you learn during this course will help you best serve, and work with, this diverse and growing population. From triage vocabulary to practice restating symptoms to ensure clarity of communication, to learning about common illnesses among hispanic patients, you will expand your knowledge in a breadth of directions.
NEEDS OF LATINX & IMMIGRANT PATIENTS
In a publication by UMASS Medical school about cross-cultural initiatives, it states that “in many situations, it is not just a language barrier that needs to be breached. Different cultures have different expectations and requirements when it comes to health care,” according to Migration Policy. Health care providers that have background knowledge of different cultures and customs, in addition to Spanish fluency, will best be able to cross common barriers between patient and provider.
Imperative to the administration of high quality health care is accurate communication and the creation of trust between healthcare professionals and patients. Patients need to feel understood and that their values and identity are valued. Spanish speaking patients may struggle getting their needs, pain, and overall message across to those caring for them, resulting in potentially dangerous miscommunications.
BEST PRACTICES FOR IMMIGRANT AND SPANISH-SPEAKING PATIENTS
Immigrants, including undocumented immigrants and refugees, live unique realities which result in specific challenges. Some immigrants may not know the extent of their rights or how the U.S. healthcare system functions.
Healthcare professionals need to be aware of these specific needs and challenges in order to best care for these populations. Some key knowledge of Latin American culture and medicine can play an important role in understanding and caring for patients with such backgrounds.
Medical practitioners and professionals working in healthcare-related fields must enable their patients to understand all aspects of their care, treatment, etc., so that they can make well informed decisions regarding their health care. Professionals interacting with hispanic populations in health-related circumstances also face language and cultural barriers that can be obstacles which prevent people from being able to make informed decisions for themselves.
CULTURAL COMPETENCY IN HEALTHCARE
Within UMASS Medical School’s same publication, they argue that “in our diverse world, ensuring that people with limited English competency or specific cultural requirements have access to quality health care is an obligation for all health care providers,” according to Migration Policy. The EdOdyssey Medical Spanish course will help you help the healthcare field move toward providing quality health care for all.
Feeling understood by a doctor or other healthcare provider who speaks Spanish and has relevant knowledge of Latin American culture, will likely result in the patient or client feeling comfortable and trusting doctors and professionals to do their job.
WHY MEDICAL SPANISH?
This program will enable students to learn from and with other excited students, as well as native Spanish speakers with experience in the medical field. Luis Garcia, a LSA Qualified Medical Interpreter, and EdOdyssey’s study abroad cultural advisor in Lima, Peru, will guide students through the cultural module of the program.
Combined with language learning through El Sol Spanish Language School, based in Lima, Peru, the cultural course will help students gain a broader cultural understanding of how one’s culture, background, beliefs, and language affect the healthcare that they receive or need.
Upon completion of the course, we hope that students feel inspired to continue serving others, particularly those who may face great challenges due to a lack of English-proficiency. More generally, this course aims to inspire students to work toward bettering themselves and the healthcare field through Spanish language acquisition and cultural competency.