Spanish Immersion trips

[ThinkFast007]

any of you all been on one of those Medical-Spanish Immersion trips?

I plan on going to one in the summer, just wanted to know if any of you all had any good experiences or suggestions to one.

Thanks

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[tridoc13]

any of you all been on one of those Medical-Spanish Immersion trips?

I plan on going to one in the summer, just wanted to know if any of you all had any good experiences or suggestions to one.

Thanks

I did 6 weeks in Ecuador through Salud (Amerispan.com). It was a four-week course of Spanish class plus work in the local hospitals. They have programs all over the world and are relatively cheap. We paid $1500 for room, board, classes and a trip to a different part of the country each weekend. A few of us stayed a little longer and went to the Ecuadorian Amazon, etc. If you have additional questions, feel free to e.mail me off-list.

 

[marsupial]

I did salud too, but it is VERY expensive. What you want to do is contact Diego at the language school, La Academia Latinoamericana, explain that you want to do the medical spanish program and do their same activities and homestay but you would like to arrange it directly thru him (i.e. don't make Amerispan rich)

 

[community]

Google Mundo Guatemala. The cost is $890 for 4 wks and 8 wks for $1680. Four hrs one on one lessons per day plus clinic hours.

 

[DoctorDo-Little]

In general, I think that there's 2 important things to consider when choosing where to do a Spanish immersion program:

1. Find out about the patient population that you will be working with. So, despite what language schools might tell you, there really are some huge differences among Latin American Spanishes. Once I rented a Scottish movie, and I just started to understand the accent as the credits began to roll - Spanish dialects can be just as far apart. If you spend 2 months in Buenos Aires accustoming your ear to Argentine Spanish, you might have trouble when you come back to work with your Dominican patients.

2. Find out where in you would _really_ like to visit. So, we're all about to get seriously tied down for the next few years, and this might be your last chance in a long while to go to a really far-off place. When's the next time you'll get to go backpacking in the Basque country of Spain... incidentally, if you do do that, could you bring me along?

 

[ThinkFast007]

...2. Find out where in you would _really_ like to visit. So, we're all about to get seriously tied down for the next few years, and this might be your last chance in a long while to go to a really far-off place. When's the next time you'll get to go backpacking in the Basque country of Spain... incidentally, if you do do that, could you bring me along?

sure i'll bring you along. perhaps you can fit in the suitcase???

LOL

thansk everyone for the info! appreciate it!

 

[GoRedSox06]

My wife (a graduating 4th year) spent 3 months on Oaxaca, Mexico prior to starting Med School specifically to learn Spanish. She said is was the best thing she could have done. She is fluent and she says it really puts her spanish speaking patients at ease.

 

[freshity]

i highly recommend all med students to learn to speak spanish--it's only becoming more common, and it's pretty darn common now. also, i'd like to send out a general caution not to expect to be fluent after an immersion program unless you 1)had some spanish before or 2)have some serious genius for languages (which i do think exists but is rare). some people sign up for a month or 6 weeks and think they'll come back home ready to roll with native speakers. it's just not like that. to clarify, when i say fluent, i really mean fluent--able to converse without asking for people to repeat themselves or slow down, able to use all tenses (even the dreaded subjunctives), speaking with proper grammar, etc. i've seen many classmates disappointed to find that that expensive month they paid for in costa rica or mexico, etc, made them somewhat more comfortable dealing with spanish-only patients when necessary, but not at a level that made it easy/normal, and still not something they felt entirely capable of doing. that said, even if it's just a start, i think it's worth it. just be realistic, and don't give up when you get home and think "ugh, i still can't do this!" the only way to get better is to practice.

 

[penguins]

I did one in Antigua, Gautamala and it was awesome. I was there for 2 weeks and did the thing with the private tutor. Being from Tejas, I knew a lot going there so it was a really good refresher experience. You do learn a lot and the city is one of my favorite places on earth. They tailored my tutoring towards medical spanish but I didn't do anything with patients are anything, it was purely Spanish class.

 

[jane2]

This is interesting.

Would you say that having Spanish (to the point of fluency / near fluency) is a significant advantage to doctors / medical students in the USA. Is it something which would prove to be an advantage when applying for residencies?

Is it more of an advantage in particular parts of America than others? (eg perhaps California has a lot of Spanish speakers??) Sorry if this sounds a bit ignorant, I'm British and am considering applying for residencies as an IMG and am trying to think about what kinds of things might set me apart from all the millions of other IMGs who all want a place on an American residency.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[BKN]

This is interesting.

Would you say that having Spanish (to the point of fluency / near fluency) is a significant advantage to doctors / medical students in the USA. Is it something which would prove to be an advantage when applying for residencies?

Is it more of an advantage in particular parts of America than others? (eg perhaps California has a lot of Spanish speakers??) Sorry if this sounds a bit ignorant, I'm British and am considering applying for residencies as an IMG and am trying to think about what kinds of things might set me apart from all the millions of other IMGs who all want a place on an American residency.

Thanks for any advice.

Well it helps in my program. On the other hand, I'm sitting in my office 1 mile from Mexico.

Seriously, there's not an academic ED in America now that doesn't see a Spanish speaker every day and usually several. Spanish fluency will be seen as a plus almost everywhere and a strong plus in some places in Ca, Fl, Az, New York and Texas.

 

[GoRedSox06]

This is interesting.

Would you say that having Spanish (to the point of fluency / near fluency) is a significant advantage to doctors / medical students in the USA. Is it something which would prove to be an advantage when applying for residencies?

Is it more of an advantage in particular parts of America than others? (eg perhaps California has a lot of Spanish speakers??) Sorry if this sounds a bit ignorant, I'm British and am considering applying for residencies as an IMG and am trying to think about what kinds of things might set me apart from all the millions of other IMGs who all want a place on an American residency.

Thanks for any advice.

I would say if you are from an area where there is a large Spanish speaking population (or plan to do residency in one) it is a definate help. My wife has found it to be one of the most valuble things on her rotations through Med school. And to claify...my wife did have a couple of years of college Spanish in prior to the immersion. She stayed with a family there and she was only to speak Spanish as they family she was matched with spoke no English. She had to go to a class 2 hours a day and the rest of the time she had to mingle with the locals.

 

[beanbean]

Tomorrow is my last day of a month long Medical Spanish course in Costa Rica. I had only taken one semester of Spanish a few years ago and the Latin I learned 20 yrs ago in high school is long gone....so I was very much a beginner.

The experience has been fantastic! I highly recommend ILERI in Escazu, Costa Rica...Escazu is a suburb of the capital, San Jose. They also have locations in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica and Panama. My in-laws live here in Costa Rica and we have stayed with them for the month, but ILERI provides housing with Costa Rican families or in a hostel or B&B setting. My daughters and I, they are 7 and 9, attend school for 4 hours per day. My class is private and the emphasis is on conversational and medical Spanish. The instructors have extensive language training and are all native Spanish speakers. My primary instructor is a physician who works part-time for ILERI in addition to working as a GP in Costa Rica. Learning medical spanish from a practicing physician has been fantastic.

ILERI is very flexible and teaches for all levels of Spanish; both private and group lessons are offered and the price is very good (~10/hr private). They also coordinate trips within Costa Rica for the weekends at very reasonable prices.

 

[P Diddy]

I did one in Antigua, Gautamala and it was awesome. I was there for 2 weeks and did the thing with the private tutor. Being from Tejas, I knew a lot going there so it was a really good refresher experience. You do learn a lot and the city is one of my favorite places on earth. They tailored my tutoring towards medical spanish but I didn't do anything with patients are anything, it was purely Spanish class.

hi penguins, i am thinking of going to Antigua for 3 weeks this spring. are there any programs you specifically recommend? can you just show up in Antigua and hire a tutor is is it better to arrange beforehand? what is the price range?

for background, I took spanish in high school and a semester in college, went to ecuador for 4 weeks in med school and live in cali, so practice spanish not infrequently with my patients. my reading and writing skills are great, but my conversational spanish needs some work.

p diddy

 

[P Diddy]

This is interesting.

Would you say that having Spanish (to the point of fluency / near fluency) is a significant advantage to doctors / medical students in the USA. Is it something which would prove to be an advantage when applying for residencies?

Is it more of an advantage in particular parts of America than others? (eg perhaps California has a lot of Spanish speakers??) Sorry if this sounds a bit ignorant, I'm British and am considering applying for residencies as an IMG and am trying to think about what kinds of things might set me apart from all the millions of other IMGs who all want a place on an American residency.

Thanks for any advice.

knowing spanish is invaluable in california and the southwest. as BKN mentioned, however, there are pockets of hispanic populations in nearly every metropolitan area. knowing spanish has vastly improved my patient care skills in the area where i practice.

i don't know how much they will help you obtain a residency, but spanish language skills are definitely looked upon favorably here in the Bay Area. my primary care clinic during residency required residents who wished to work there to be conversant in spanish.

p diddy

 

[freshity]

to add to the discussion of the prevalency of spanish, most cities in mass, ct, ny, pa, nj, de, md, incl dc, va, nc, and fl have significant spanish-speaking populations. for the midwest, add oh, tho i'm sure there's more (i'm not a midwesterner). of course all of the s-west, from tx to az and including the northern (e.g., not so south states) in that cluster, like co, ut, nv. of course, ca. as communities grow, so do the populations, and when small pockets appear, they tend to develop more quickly. but when you think of where the majority of americans live right now, you can definitely say that in all of those places, spanish is also very very prevalent.

i know some of you must be familiar with the census projection that by the year 2050 (or 2030), or something, latinos will constitute the majority of the u.s. population. i'm not making that up, right? so that effectively explains why we are seeing spanish spreading, and why by the time many of us are nearing the end of our practice years, it could be what we speak most of the time, depending on where we practice. i think it's exciting...i love to see a place change like this country will and has. it help to make the country exactly what it purports to be...a melting pot.

 

[penguins]

hi penguins, i am thinking of going to Antigua for 3 weeks this spring. are there any programs you specifically recommend? can you just show up in Antigua and hire a tutor is is it better to arrange beforehand? what is the price range?

for background, I took spanish in high school and a semester in college, went to ecuador for 4 weeks in med school and live in cali, so practice spanish not infrequently with my patients. my reading and writing skills are great, but my conversational spanish needs some work.

p diddy

I can't remember the name of the program! I think it might be http://www.ixchelschool.com/index.htm because the photos look familiar and I know it was outside in a courtyard type place. It is a few hundred per week. I think I paid $400 for 2 weeks. I had taken spanish in school my whole life (started in 3rd grade at my private school in Texas) and then I tested out of 2 years of college level spanish by just taking Spanish 4 and getting an A. I had forgotten a lot of it though but it comes back really quickly.

I know that some programs charge more for "medical" spanish but I don't think it is necessary to sign up for that. Just tell your tutor you want to learn medical spanish. I will ask my friend who went with me if he remembers the name of the one we used for sure.

Antigua is so awesome. At the school, conversational spanish is definitely what you will learn. I am sure you could show up in the city and just pick a program, there are soooo many language schools there. I have been 3 times (just once for the school, the others for vacation) and one of those times I stayed with a family and that was great, especially for the spanish thing. However, I wanted my own bathroom so the next 2 times I went I stayed in a hotel. The hotel wasn't that much more than the family's home anyway. Shared the room with a friend. A decent one with private bathroom is under $20/night and you can stay at some really great ones for $40. They even have a 5 star hotel there (Casa Santa Ana? An old monestary) that you can get the most amazing dinner ever. No lights, just candles light up the courtyard.
I have never in my life had such great food as I have there. The best Italian place in the world is there (better than Italy ) and they have some awesome Japanese places as well. It is really surprising. There are beautiful mountains and some people go hiking or take a boat out on the nearby lake. It is only 45 min from the City via van and that is really cheap. All the roads there are cobblestone and within a couple of days you know your way around. The architecture is beautiful and the people are soooo nice and friendly. There are internet cafes everywhere so you can always be in touch. Breakfast every morning at some little place for couple dollars.
I wanted us to go there for our honeymoon but it didn't work out. Antigua is 2nd only to Rio in my mind for the best destination. And in some ways it is better because it is so much cheaper to get to.

It is customary to tip your tutor/teacher at the end of the week because they get very little of the fee you pay. Definitely get the private lessons as oppossed to the group lessons - totally worth the extra money. Usually if you are there for more than one week, they switch teachers on you so that you have the chance to use different styles.
They even have fun dance clubs there and such. You will meet lots of young people from England, Europe and Aulstralia. Some have even moved there after one of those languange courses.

Long answer, but I love that place. I will work on confirming the program I used.

 

[ThinkFast007]

anyone here heard of medspanish.com ?

any good?

friends say it is.

 

[baby doc j]

Funny I ran across this today. I am a current 4th year, decided to divert the pre match insanity around home for some sapanish in antigua. I have jsut finished my 3 weeks studying there and am now travelling for a week before heading home. I am with 2 friends and we decided (while in the states) to study at San Jose El Viejo. EXCELLENT teaching. I could not have been happier. You can live at the school or with host families... Nebraska Med does there spanish immersion-clinic rotation throught the same school and we happened to be down here with that group of people. Don{t remember exact numbers but the whole month including all side triups housing tuition and plan ticket has been about 2 grand....vcould have easily been much less. go to sanjoseelviejo.com to check it out.
good luck!