Clinical Spanish in Physical Therapy

Catalog description

There are an ever-increasing number of people in the U.S. who only speak Spanish, and this trend is reflected in the patient population. This course goes over health disparities related to language disconcordant care and best practices for working with a medical interpreter. This course will offer an overview of basic anatomy, basic medical vocabulary, grammar and conversation with an emphasis on verb tenses most necessary for communication with Spanish speaking patients. Grammar will include verb conjugation into the imperative and present tense. The expectation is not for students to develop Spanish fluency, but rather a basis of language skills that allows the student to communicate in accordance with their skill level, and as appropriate with the help of an interpreter. Students will develop an understanding how to safely work with patients who have limited English proficiency.