The Academy’s Responsibility in Undergraduate Medical Spanish: Educating Future Bilingual and Culturally Competent Health Professionals

Language concordance is vital in providing quality healthcare for growing Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. As such, higher education institutions are responsible for preparing future health professionals who demonstrate linguistic proficiency and cultural competence when caring for Spanish-speaking patients. Furthermore, Spanish language instructors and academic departments are responsible for fostering enrollment by providing quality courses and programs that prepare students to use Spanish in their future careers. This article presents the results from surveys of Medical Spanish students on their views on assessment in their Medical Spanish courses and programs. The researchers administered a survey to 44 undergraduate students who had completed at least one Medical Spanish course about their experiences, their opinions about the assessment in their courses, and the impact the course(s) had on their Medical Spanish learning goals and careers. Participants included pre-nursing/nursing, pre-medical, health administration, health and exercise science majors, Medical Spanish minors, and Medical Spanish certificate seekers. Of these 44 students, 13 completed a follow-up survey with open-ended questions that allowed them to expand on responses from the first survey. The researchers coded responses using constructivist grounded theory methodology. Based on the themes that emerged from the present study, recommendations for undergraduate Medical Spanish assessment include evaluating aural and oral skills and developing experiential learning activities. Suggestions for best practices include offering Medical Spanish certificates, minors, majors, or a series of courses instead of one standalone class, and promoting interdisciplinary collaborations among language educators, community leaders, and healthcare professionals. Resumen La concordancia lingüística es vital para ofrecer una atención sanitaria de calidad a las crecientes comunidades hispanohablantes en los Estados Unidos. Por ello, los centros de enseñanza superior son responsables de preparar a futuros profesionales de salud que demuestren competencia lingüística y cultural cuando atienden a pacientes hispanohablantes. Además, los profesores de español y los departamentos académicos son responsables de atraer alumnos ofreciendo cursos y programas de calidad que preparen a los estudiantes para utilizar el español en sus futuras carreras profesionales. Este artículo presenta los resultados de encuestas realizadas a estudiantes de español médico sobre sus opiniones acerca de la evaluación en sus cursos y programas de español médico. Los investigadores administraron una encuesta a 44 estudiantes universitarios de pre-grado que habían completado al menos un curso de español médico, sobre sus experiencias y sus opiniones acerca de la evaluación en sus cursos, y el impacto en sus objetivos de aprendizaje del español