Francisco Saavedra M.D.
Course Chair SHP-FAMED 566
Multicultural Programs Coordinator, WSU/UI WWAMI
Clinical Asst. Professor, UW School of Medicine
Linguistically-capable, knowledgeable, and culturally-sensitive physician-patient communication is linked to improved patient satisfaction, adherence to recommendations, and better health outcomes. As the U.S. becomes more ethnically diverse, physicians will increasingly see patents with a broad range of perceptions regarding health. The concept of Spanish for Health Professionals (SHP) has recently emerged as an important goal in U.S. medical schools in response to such findings and changing demographics. Patients may present their symptoms quite differently from what we've learned in our textbooks. They may have different expectations or thresholds for seeking care, and their beliefs will influence whether or not they will follow our recommendations. Two recent reports by the Institute of Medicine , highlight the importance of patient-centered care based on linguistic and cultural competence as a means of improving communication, and thereby improving quality, eliminating disparities, and even achieving equity in health care. Bilingual physicians -the gold standard in communication- who converse directly with Latino patients in Spanish must demonstrate a command of the language that includes knowledge and facility with the terms and concepts relevant to each type of encounter. When linguistic and sociocultural differences between patient and physician are not explored and communicated, patient dissatisfaction, nonadherence, and poorer health outcomes are likely.
We are clearly aware that patients really value and look forward to an individual relationship with a well-trained, experienced, and open-minded physician who is accessible, knows them as a person, and deeply understands the bio-social and cultural context of their lives. They envision a professional who is truly willing to work objectively for their best interest, and even in the face of the most dangerous illness, prevail against all odds. SHP is an effort to provide a genuine response to how we need to adapt to an ever-changing world.
What is Spanish for Health Professionals?
Why Learn Spanish?
If you speak Spanish, you can communicate with nearly 500 million people in the world! This means you will have a greater number of possibilities in the labor market. Should you only want to visit Spain or Latin America, a basic level of Spanish will help you go far!
- At the end of the 19th century, 60 million people were Spanish speakers. Today, nearly 500 million people across the world speak Spanish!
- The Latino population in the United States has grown by 60 per cent in just one decade. As of July 2003, the Hispanic population stood at 39.9 million.
- Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 500 million people in 21 countries (Mexico: 100 million, Spain: 40 million, Argentina: 35 million, Colombia: 35 million, Venezuela: 25 million, Peru: 20 million...).
- Spanish is the second most used language in international communication and the third as an international language of politics, economics and culture.
- The creation of MERCOSUR and many other free trade agreements between South American countries and North America (ALADI, the Andean Community, CACM, NAFTA, G3) which already exist in order to improve the economies of these countries, making them more efficient and competitive.
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