Is learning French relevant to medicine?

[AlexStark]

As a pre- med I often see that medical schools admire students who can speak more than 1 language.
But many times I find that learning Spanish is the only relevant language towards becoming a doctor. Even the doctor I mentor under speaks Spanish, allowing him to effectively communicate to foreign patients (This is common because I live in Fl where there is a large population Spanish of speakers).
But very rarely we have patients who come in who speak french, mainly from the islands and no one in the hospital can communicate with them. I am just wondering is it worth learning French over Spanish in undergrad? Or will medical schools not see it worth while?

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[Crayola227]

I don't know how med schools see it, but unless you plan to practice somewhere in Africa or the Carribbean, no, it isn't really useful.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Only 0.64% of Americans over the age of 5 speak French at home, whereas 13% of Americans over 5 speak Spanish at home. So Spanish is much more useful unless you’re planning on practicing in one of the Francophone communities in the US.

 

[Goro]

Nope.

I should have said "non".

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

From a purely utilitarian point of view, Spanish is the way to go. It won't stand out that you're the only person who can communicate with the single Francophone who comes in this decade although it would probably feel really cool. It won't feel really cool when several of your peers can communicate on maybe an hourly basis with the significant Hispanic population in FL and you can't.

 

[LizzyM]

Frankly, if you have not studied a language before starting college, and you are taking a language to meet a gen ed requirement, it is unlikely you'll be able to do more than exchange pleasantries with non-English speaking patients who speak the language you've learned in college.

Take a language that interests you, that is well taught at your school (check ratemyprofessor or other resources to be sure you are getting a good instructor), and that won't tank your GPA.

I do know a doctor who found French to be very useful when doing HIV clinical trials in Africa. The doc had no idea in undergrad that such a thing would be a major part of their career.

 

[gyngyn]

I vote for Spanish. I use it every day, sometimes all day long.
Every word you learn has the potential to put someone who is vulnerable at greater ease.

 

[Dr Meow]

French is the most useless language I've ever learned. Took 6 years of it as a kid. Useless for medicine in the US or for anything else in the US.
Wish I took latin or spanish instead. yesh dad. Made me take it cus he thought it was a "beautiful language" then blamed me for taking it years later.

 

[Dobermann]

I mean if you wanna do Médicins Sans Frontières it won’t hurt.

But I can count on my hand the number of patients I’ve met who speak French. I now wish I had taken Spanish instead.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Not particularly, but it is super cool anyway. An applicant could turn it into a relevant experience working abroad with a french-speaking culture which would make an amazing (and unique) story for interviews. But Spanish is largely more relevant in the US.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I mean if you wanna do Médicins Sans Frontières it won’t hurt.

But I can count on my hand the number of patients I’ve met who speak French. I now wish I had taken Spanish instead.

I did say earlier that Spanish is more helpful, but I’ve actually had two French speaking patients just this month.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Inutile! I am native fluent in French. Never used it in any setting.

 

[14_karat]

For a lot of global health work, it is very relevant.

Regardless, learn a language because you think it’s cool. Not for a application booster.

 

[yokiguz]

I don't know how med schools see it, but unless you plan to practice somewhere in Africa or the Carribbean, no, it isn't really useful.

Umm did you forget about your neighbours to the north?!

 

[Crayola227]

Umm did you forget about your neighbours to the north?!

I was thinking more of the medical mission variety. To my knowledge opportunities in Canada would be pretty limited for US docs.

 

[darklabel]

I'll throw in that Creole is becoming an important language. Spanish will always be the best, but Creole is a good one.

 

[fogo]

Wrt usefulness of languages in the US:
- Tier 0: English
- Tier 1: Spanish, Chinese
- Tier 2: Arabic, Russian, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, French, Portuguese, German, Japanese

For any language that is not English, Spanish, or Chinese, you'll find limited utility. But, it can also distinguish you from others -- provided you are very fluent in that language.

 

[allseasons]

French is the most useless language I've ever learned. Took 6 years of it as a kid. Useless for medicine in the US or for anything else in the US.
Wish I took latin or spanish instead. yesh dad. Made me take it cus he thought it was a "beautiful language" then blamed me for taking it years later.

how did you get 0 IIs but 1 WL.

 

[ontiquicuo]

For any language that is not English, Spanish, or Chinese, you'll find limited utility.

This can be very regional. Where I am, both Vietnamese and Haitian Creole would be more useful than Mandarin. Depending on the time of year, maybe Portuguese too.

 

[RangerBob]

As an attending I’ve had exactly one patient who spoke French.

She spoke fluent English too, so communication wasn’t an issue.

Unless you plan to do service in a specific area/with a specific community, Spanish is the really only language worth considering if you’re learning it just for the sake or practicing medicine. And you’ll likely only learn enough for pleasantries/basic communication as stated above, but don’t underestimate how much that means to Spanish-only speaking patients.

There are communities out there with large immigrant populations that don’t speak English but you’re often unlikely to see the volume of patients needed to maintain any sort of competency.

This assumes you plan to practice in the US. If you plan to practice in Eurpose, Arabic (not French), is likely more beneficial, as the Middle East is where a lot of displaced people are coming from there.

Mandarin/Cantonese/Hindi sound nice in theory, but the majority of Chinese/Indian immigrants to the US are generally fairly educated/affluent (ie., not refugees) and either speak English already or have resources to learn it relatively quickly after arriving in the US. So I think the applications there are more limited. Hmong on the other hand, is a great language to learn if you want to practice in the CA Central Valley.

On the other hand, there are multiple other reasons to lean other languages--personal interest, desire to live in that country, because you met a girl/guy you think is cute and want to speak their language. Stranger things have happened--love is the primary cause of multi-ethinic households!