This course was developed by Norma Allban, under a grant from the Health Education and Training Center (HETC). For additional background on Ms. Hilton or HETC, select the appropriate link.

The rapid growth of the Hispanic population in the United States has stimulated increased interest in this segment of the country's population. One area of particular concern is the area of health. The Office of Minority Health insists that health care professionals need to be better trained, culturally and linguistically, to reach the needs of this population.

As its name suggests, this online course is designed to teach health care professionals such as you to better communicate with their Hispanic patients. In doing so, you will be able to better understand their health concerns, diagnose their health problems, and treat them more effectively.

The primary objective of this course is to develop in the medical professional the ability to communicate with Spanish-speaking patients through the necessary dialogue, according to the context of the situation. To accomplish this objective, you will be asked to:

• Practice pronouncing, translating and utilizing terms in Spanish commonly used to describe:
  • days of the week and months of the year
  • articles of clothing
  • family members
  • anatomical structures of the human body
  • common diseases
  • medical terms related to diagnosis and treatment
  • elements of a healthy diet
  • prenatal care
• Recognize and apply grammatical principles that influence the:
  • use of definite and indefinite articles in Spanish
  • agreement between adjectives and the nouns they modify
  • conjugation of common Spanish verbs related to health
  • use of interrogatives in Spanish conversation
  • dialogue between provider and patient in the medical setting
• Recall aspects of Latino culture that influence the patient provider relationship, including the:
  • values of Latino families and their transmission in the home
  • importance of the family as a support group
  • influence of the family on health customs, decisions and behaviors
  • influence of the Catholic church on birth control in Catholic families.

The course is composed of four modules, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of the patient-provider exchange. Each module uses a consistent format to provide familiar reference points throughout the learning process. Each module gradually introduces language concepts through similar sequence, beginning with relevant vocabulary and grammatical principles. This is followed by a simulated dialogue based on a common patient-provider exchange. At each stage, exercises are provided to support the learning process and show you how you can enrich your interactions with Hispanic patients. It is not intended to offer a complete course of the Spanish language, but to present its basic knowledge to help medical personal to communicate and understand the Hispanic patients who do not speak English.

The Topics and Posttest are accessed by using the navigation on the left.

As you enter a topic, the navigation on the left will change to give you access to that topic's sections and Progress Check.

To access another topic use the Previous Menu link.

The Resources and Glossary are accessed using the tabs in the top navigation bar along with a tab for Tech Support and Enter/Exit. These tabs remain available throughout the entire course.

This online course uses a self-paced, independent study approach. A variety of learning strategies have been included to stimulate your interest in the Spanish language and encourage you to apply what you learn in simulated and real life practice settings.

To get the most out of your learning experience, we highly recommend you complete each of the following steps in the order presented:

1. What Do You Know? The first section of the module assesses your knowledge of common Spanish words by presenting what are called cognates-words in Spanish that are similar in spelling and pronunciation to their English counterparts. You may be surprised-and pleased--to find that your Spanish vocabulary is more extensive than you think.
   
   
2. Essential Vocabulary and Grammar. The second section of each module introduces vocabulary and grammar essential to the kind of patient-provider exchange that is the focus of the module. It is in this section that you will learn key nouns, adjectives, verbs, common phrases, cultural idioms, and sentence structures that provide the foundation for such exchanges, and prepare you for more advanced linguistic concepts in subsequent modules. Self-check questions are provided to help you test your understanding and recall of the concepts presented.
   
   
3. Module Theme. The theme for this module is based on a common type of interaction that occurs between the patient and health care professional: The patient history interview. Whether it takes place in the doctor's office, the clinic, the hospital, or the patient's home, the interview process is essentially the same. The goal of this section is to familiarize with you with common communication issues that may arise between you and your Spanish-speaking patients while taking the patient's health history. A follow-up written exercise asks you to enter information typically obtained during such an interview in the appropriate medical form.
   
   
4. Comprehension Exercise. This section contains the Patient Interview with a questions and answers activity based on the interview to reinforce what has been learned.
   
   
5. Cultural Notes. This section includes two features that provide additional insight into Latino culture. The first, Understanding the Hispanic Patient, explores Hispanic culture and the implications for health care. The second feature, Popular Wisdom, introduces a popular Hispanic saying that reveals a particular health-related belief.
   
   
6. Module Post-test. When you have completed Steps 1-4, complete the Module Post-test.

As you work through the course, keep the following in mind:

• You may stop and restart the course at any time. However, for best results, we suggest you complete each module in one sitting.
  
  
• Whenever you see the symbol [T], you can click on it to view a Spanish translation of the onscreen text. This Spanish translation includes a link to an audio clip [I<] that provides a spoken version of the text. Use these links to view and hear the Spanish language equivalent for specific passages in the course, and to practice your own Spanish reading and speaking skills.
  
  
• A bilingual Glossary has been provided online to help you translate relevant medical terms. Some terms that appear in the text are hyperlinked to this glossary.
  
  
• A list of resources is provided at the end of the course. Citations within the text of the course are hyperlinked to these resources.