I was just wondering if anyone knew of an effective, efficient, quick way to learn the basics of medical spanish? any particular books, audio aids, etc? I have no prior Spanish knowledge.
For audio courses, you might want to check out these sites:
http://www.languagedynamics.com/ They have a nice user-friendly general Spanish course consisting of eight lessons, each of which is great for road trips lasting an hour or more. If you're a complete beginner, you'll get more out of it if you use the workbook. Again, this is primarily for general, everyday Spanish.
http://www.medspanish.org/ They are geared specifically toward Spanish for medical professionals, and have a three-level audio course (see the "materials" section of their site). They also have a 4-day intensive course that covers the material, I believe at a beginning and advanced level.
If you're looking for a program to improve your everyday speech, I've liked the series by Pimsleur: