Foreign Language Fluency and ERAS?

[1viking]

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I speak Portuguese fluently. I took 16 credits of Spanish in college so I could communicate better with patients. In all, I can read fluently and write well. I can speak well, but sometimes I have to ask the speaker to slow down. Also, I don't know all the medical terms, such as cesarean, hysterectomy, or psychosis. Should I write fluent, or, should I write something like "working knowledge" or "semi-fluent"? I'm in that nebulous region right now, where I'm not quite fluent, but sure am close. Meaning, I have translated at the hospital many times.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I speak Portuguese fluently. I took 16 credits of Spanish in college so I could communicate better with patients. In all, I can read fluently and write well. I can speak well, but sometimes I have to ask the speaker to slow down. Also, I don't know all the medical terms, such as cesarean, hysterectomy, or psychosis. Should I write fluent, or, should I write something like "working knowledge" or "semi-fluent"? I'm in that nebulous region right now, where I'm not quite fluent, but sure am close. Meaning, I have translated at the hospital many times.

I would use the following rule of thumb:

Fluent = if your interviewer decided to interview you in that language, you'd be fine.

 

[1viking]

Well, I would be fine in an interview, unless they started asking me to talk about aspects of medical science, at which point I would have to think, "how would I say, 'your baby was intubated and had a dose of surfactant placed in his lungs. We are making him a full admission for observation'"? That situation happened to me, and I winged it, though, I really couldn't think of the word "surfactant" in Spanish.

Also, some people can talk so darn fast...

 

[LadyGrey]

So, what are some terms people use to mean some level less than could-be-interviewed-in-it fluent?

My Spanish grammar leaves a lot to be desired, so I'd freeze up in a professional interview because I'd sound like an idiot. But with patients, my comprehension is very good and my ability to be understood is adequate to many but not all situations. That is, I feel comfortable taking a history and conducting a physical in Spanish, but not explaining pathophysiology or risks/benefits of a treatment in great detail. People speaking some variants of Spanish are still a bit harder for me to understand than others, e.g., Mexican and South/Central American patients are very clear to me, but Puerto Rican and Dominican patients are tougher for me to understand because of some combination of accent and slang, I think.

Basically, it would be stupid to omit my Spanish entirely from ERAS, because I do have some level of ability that has proved useful and valued this year, but I don't want to misrepresent or overstate my abilities, either.

 

[RTrain]

So, what are some terms people use to mean some level less than could-be-interviewed-in-it fluent?

My Spanish grammar leaves a lot to be desired, so I'd freeze up in a professional interview because I'd sound like an idiot. But with patients, my comprehension is very good and my ability to be understood is adequate to many but not all situations. That is, I feel comfortable taking a history and conducting a physical in Spanish, but not explaining pathophysiology or risks/benefits of a treatment in great detail. People speaking some variants of Spanish are still a bit harder for me to understand than others, e.g., Mexican and South/Central American patients are very clear to me, but Puerto Rican and Dominican patients are tougher for me to understand because of some combination of accent and slang, I think.

Basically, it would be stupid to omit my Spanish entirely from ERAS, because I do have some level of ability that has proved useful and valued this year, but I don't want to misrepresent or overstate my abilities, either.

I am at about your level of Spanish fluency (French too, incidentally), and I have variously listed my capabilities as "conversational," "functional," or "competent medical." No one has tried to trip me up by discussing literature with me in Spanish, but I've encountered the odd question or comment in Spanish, none of which were out of my league.

 

[bigdan]

1vik-

Vou preencher que tenho "working knowledge" da lingua portugesa, e vou fazer o mesmo para espanhol.

dc