Speaking Spanish: How can it help your career?

[Sal Sero]

Incoming bilingual M1 here wondering about the actual applicability of Spanish to one's career as a physician. Aside from making life a bit easier when going through med school/residency (especially if you are training in certain parts of the country with large Hispanic populations), is there really anything unique a future physician like me could do with his Spanish speaking abilities that would help his career in a significant way?

For example:
If a bilingual doc one day wanted to get into academics and/or research, it's not like Latin America or Spain is a hotspot of medical literature, so Spanish isn't much help there. From a private practice perspective, speaking Spanish also is probably not going to be bringing in any lucrative patients, probably only more people from lower socioeconomic status with government health insurance (not that I have a problem with treating the underserved - just bringing a pragmatic perspective to the discussion for a moment)

Possible uses that come to mind:
If involved in public health research, a bilingual doc could perhaps get access to certain patient populations that (s)he would otherwise be pretty isolated from.
More freedom to work in different parts of the country (Miami, California, Southwest, etc.)
Could prove useful if getting into the hospital administration/business side of medicine and your hospital is located in a place with a large Hispanic population

What do you guys think? Any other applications?

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[OnePunchBiopsy]

Incoming bilingual M1 here wondering about the actual applicability of Spanish to one's career as a physician. Aside from making life a bit easier when going through med school/residency (especially if you are training in certain parts of the country with large Hispanic populations), is there really anything unique a future physician like me could do with his Spanish speaking abilities that would help his career in a significant way?

For example:
If a bilingual doc one day wanted to get into academics and/or research, it's not like Latin America or Spain is a hotspot of medical literature, so Spanish isn't much help there. From a private practice perspective, speaking Spanish also is probably not going to be bringing in any lucrative patients, probably only more people from lower socioeconomic status with government health insurance (not that I have a problem with treating the underserved - just bringing a pragmatic perspective to the discussion for a moment)

Possible uses that come to mind:
If involved in public health research, a bilingual doc could perhaps get access to certain patient populations that (s)he would otherwise be pretty isolated from.
More freedom to work in different parts of the country (Miami, California, Southwest, etc.)
Could prove useful if getting into the hospital administration/business side of medicine and your hospital is located in a place with a large Hispanic population

What do you guys think? Any other applications?

I've seen a few benefits of being a bilingual physician:

1.) You don't have to rely on ancillary staff/technology to communicate with your patients. This really saves time during rounds or in clinic.
2.) Bilingual docs have told me that their spanish-speaking patients always ask for them by name when they are taken to the hospital. Speaking their language forms a tight bond that nothing much else can emulate.
3.) Rolling your R's sounds cool and can help when picking up spicy senioritas (not patients though, because lawsuits).

 

[kamakazi5]

I've seen a few benefits of being a bilingual physician:

1.) You don't have to rely on ancillary staff/technology to communicate with your patients. This really saves time during rounds or in clinic.
2.) Bilingual docs have told me that their spanish-speaking patients always ask for them by name when they are taken to the hospital. Speaking their language forms a tight bond that nothing much else can emulate.
3.) Rolling your R's sounds cool and can help when picking up spicy senioritas (not patients though, because lawsuits).

I have recently started seriously trying to learn Spanish and it irritates me to no end that I can't roll my R's yet.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I have recently started seriously trying to learn Spanish and it irritates me to no end that I can't roll my R's yet.

I've thought about learning it, but I think even if I did learn it I wouldn't be able to speak it at a level high enough for me to assume FULL responsibility making sure the patient understands what I'm saying.

Translator phone it is...

 

[Gorne]

How does speaking another language help you as a doctor? This seriously has to be asked?

 

[WingedOx]

I've thought about learning it, but I think even if I did learn it I wouldn't be able to speak it at a level high enough for me to assume FULL responsibility making sure the patient understands what I'm saying.

Translator phone it is...

...not always available, sadly. The interpreter service my hospital used in residency was FUBAR half the time. Plus, I also had a number of patients who despite poor english didn't like using interpreters so we'd get through appointments using my broken spanish and and their broken engish.

15 min a day of Duolingo can make a huge difference, more than you'd think.

 

[Vyzzle]

Fluent Spanish speaker here.

I'm from NYC and being able to speak Spanish as a physician here would certainly be advantageous. There's no shortage of ancillary staff here that speaks Spanish, so it's not too much of an issue if you don't. Also plenty of physicians here (especially in private practice from my experience) speak "medical spanish" as they put it, just enough to get by whatever it is they do.

 

[Sal Sero]

Thanks for the replies guys

 

[Gurby]

I have recently started seriously trying to learn Spanish and it irritates me to no end that I can't roll my R's yet.

I got it within a few days after watching this video!

 

[cellsaver]

I got it within a few days after watching this video!

I just got home, Im exhausted, husband is in bed and I needed some downtime to relax. Thanks for posting this hysterical video. I laughed my tush off with it. Kinda scary though. I could only watch the first minute and it reminded me of Rocky Horror lips with Tim Curry

Here is a better and faster way , much shorter video, to learn how to roll your RRs. We used to sing this song as kids with our parents at home.

"Erre con erre cigarro
erre con erre barril
rápido ruedan los carros
cargados de azúcar del ferrocarril"

She does a terrific job of demonstrating

¡Buena suerrrrrrrte!

 

[cellsaver]

Incoming bilingual M1 here wondering about the actual applicability of Spanish to one's career as a physician. Aside from making life a bit easier when going through med school/residency (especially if you are training in certain parts of the country with large Hispanic populations), is there really anything unique a future physician like me could do with his Spanish speaking abilities that would help his career in a significant way?

For example:
If a bilingual doc one day wanted to get into academics and/or research, it's not like Latin America or Spain is a hotspot of medical literature, so Spanish isn't much help there. From a private practice perspective, speaking Spanish also is probably not going to be bringing in any lucrative patients, probably only more people from lower socioeconomic status with government health insurance (not that I have a problem with treating the underserved - just bringing a pragmatic perspective to the discussion for a moment)

Possible uses that come to mind:
If involved in public health research, a bilingual doc could perhaps get access to certain patient populations that (s)he would otherwise be pretty isolated from.
More freedom to work in different parts of the country (Miami, California, Southwest, etc.)
Could prove useful if getting into the hospital administration/business side of medicine and your hospital is located in a place with a large Hispanic population

What do you guys think? Any other applications?

Estas bien equivocado con tus ideas.
You are gravely mistaken with your thoughts

Know Spanish well (Fluent well with no hesitation), and have a leadership personality, and you will own your space. The marketability is obvious - you possess skillsets few have. You open yourself to worlds and cultures few White Anglos and Black Americans can approach. Your demand increases dramatically, your ability to reach patients and educate communities surpasses your peers, you can influence administration, be an advocate for policy makers and medical leaders bc you know the plight of those ignored incomunicados. You can target audiences that are otherwise ignored by business leaders in medicine, not to mention connect in an intimate fashion with the largest minority group in the USA. Latinos outnumber blacks significantly and we are growing in numbers. Be a voice for Latinos while being a highly respected physician by your peers, and you have the potential to have more exposure, command more heft and, oh yeah, make more dinero in the proper business paradigm

Faculty and Attendings are always asking me to see Latino patients and help them because the translators take too long. I have been asked to attend global health initiatives (missionary trips) and set up rural medical clinics by Faculty. Plus patients prefer a physician who can speak their language face to face instead of using an intermediary

Your question was bizarre because any well versed bilingual professional knows possessing the skillset of knowing another language fluently gives you many advantages, great potential and a wide sphere of influence.

¿Estamos claro? (Are we clear?)

¡Dale!

 

[Perrotfish]

I've thought about learning it, but I think even if I did learn it I wouldn't be able to speak it at a level high enough for me to assume FULL responsibility making sure the patient understands what I'm saying.

Translator phone it is...

See, this is how its supposed to work, but translators cost money and translator phones charge by the call, so some hospitals will make them so inconvenient to use that you can't, for practical purposes, access them. Usually by making a translator request a 1+ hour long process. Trying to get a translator for even half of your Spanish speaking patients in this scenario would kill your entire morning and you would be on the hot seat for poor time management. Of course translators are technically available, so if you screw up your history it is 100% your fault in a legal sense, but actually you're on your own.

When hospitals don't have available translators, residents who are fluent in Spanish round without translators. Residents who are semi-fluent in Spanish round without translators. Residents who speak no Spanish at all... round without translators. The ones who speak no Spanish usually use a combination of the 10 words of Spanish they actually do know (dolor?), family member translators (frequently the hospitalized child), third generation Hispanic not actually Spanish speaking nurse translators (dolor?), and of course made up sign language.

The point is, learn Spanish. If you can get fluent, great. If not, something is still better than nothing.

 

[cellsaver]

See, this is how its supposed to work, but translators cost money and translator phones charge by the call, so some hospitals will make them so inconvenient to use that you can't, for practical purposes, access them. Usually by making a translator request a 1+ hour long process. Trying to get a translator for even half of your Spanish speaking patients in this scenario would kill your entire morning and you would be on the hot seat for poor time management. Of course translators are technically available, so if you screw up your history it is 100% your fault in a legal sense, but actually you're on your own.

When hospitals don't have available translators, residents who are fluent in Spanish round without translators. Residents who are semi-fluent in Spanish round without translators. Residents who speak no Spanish at all... round without translators. The ones who speak no Spanish usually use a combination of the 10 words of Spanish they actually do know (dolor?), family member translators (frequently the hospitalized child), third generation Hispanic not actually Spanish speaking nurse translators (dolor?), and of course made up sign language.

The point is, learn Spanish. If you can get fluent, great. If not, something is still better than nothing.

Es verdad. While you wouldnt want to be treated as a patient with metastatic breast cancer in China, Norway or Switzerland by a physician who knows 10 words in English, you will appreciate their effort. You will be scared to death but 10 words is something.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I've seen a few benefits of being a bilingual physician:

1.) You don't have to rely on ancillary staff/technology to communicate with your patients. This really saves time during rounds or in clinic.
2.) Bilingual docs have told me that their spanish-speaking patients always ask for them by name when they are taken to the hospital. Speaking their language forms a tight bond that nothing much else can emulate.
3.) Rolling your R's sounds cool and can help when picking up spicy senioritas (not patients though, because lawsuits).

I died at "senioritas"
I hope that was intentional
I see you're heading for the geriatrics subspecialty

 

[Sal Sero]

Estas bien equivocado con tus ideas.
You are gravely mistaken with your thoughts

Know Spanish well (Fluent well with no hesitation), and have a leadership personality, and you will own your space. The marketability is obvious - you possess skillsets few have. You open yourself to worlds and cultures few White Anglos and Black Americans can approach. Your demand increases dramatically, your ability to reach patients and educate communities surpasses your peers, you can influence administration, be an advocate for policy makers and medical leaders bc you know the plight of those ignored incomunicados. You can target audiences that are otherwise ignored by business leaders in medicine, not to mention connect in an intimate fashion with the largest minority group in the USA. Latinos outnumber blacks significantly and we are growing in numbers. Be a voice for Latinos while being a highly respected physician by your peers, and you have the potential to have more exposure, command more heft and, oh yeah, make more dinero in the proper business paradigm

Faculty and Attendings are always asking me to see Latino patients and help them because the translators take too long. I have been asked to attend global health initiatives (missionary trips) and set up rural medical clinics by Faculty. Plus patients prefer a physician who can speak their language face to face instead of using an intermediary

Your question was bizarre because any well versed bilingual professional knows possessing the skillset of knowing another language fluently gives you many advantages, great potential and a wide sphere of influence.

¿Estamos claro? (Are we clear?)

¡Dale!

Y está ud bien condescendiente con su consejo, pero gracias por los dos párrafos de su respuesta que fueron útiles

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I died at "senioritas"
I hope that was intentional
I see you're heading for the geriatrics subspecialty

No need to kink shame!

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

No need to kink shame!

No shame there, wink wink nudge nudge...just stay away from the foley catheters

 

[Redpancreas]

Sorry to detract from your thread but as someone with elementary proficiency in Spanish (4 years of IB that stuck), will I ever be legally allowed to communicate with patients if I improve myself to the proficiency of a fluent speaker level? I see actual bilinguals like Puerto-Rican AMG residents going without translators and I assume that's ok because they're fluent, but then there are people who are highly proficient and may or may not be "fluent". From a medico-legal perspective, is there any test you have to take to establish yourself as equivalent to the translators they provide? It's so frustrating for me because I'm like half-way there and could probably get the H&P from my basic speaking and it would make me feel more accomplished, but instead I have to be the dunce using a translator.

 

[cellsaver]

Sorry to detract from your thread but as someone with elementary proficiency in Spanish (4 years of IB that stuck), will I ever be legally allowed to communicate with patients if I improve myself to the proficiency of a fluent speaker level? I see actual bilinguals like Puerto-Rican AMG residents going without translators and I assume that's ok because they're fluent, but then there are people who are highly proficient and may or may not be "fluent". From a medico-legal perspective, is there any test you have to take to establish yourself as equivalent to the translators they provide? It's so frustrating for me because I'm like half-way there and could probably get the H&P from my basic speaking and it would make me feel more accomplished, but instead I have to be the dunce using a translator.

if you are fluent due to upbringing or if it is your native tongue, then you wont need to take a test. The hospital translators will defer to you. However if you are riding on that "iffy" part, or aiming for that dubious "H&P" standard, then yes, you will have to prove you are fluent with a test. You should want it as well.

A basic H&P isn't enough. As CJ_cregg mentioned, so much of translating revolves around culture, understanding, hearing the nuanced words or phrases of the speaker once they trust you enough to share. A Mexicana isnt an Argentina. A Honduran isnt a Chilena. While I know most Americans think anything south of the Border is one big primordial Spanish language soup, it is not.

Suggestion- talk to your medical school faculty involved in global health initiatives in Latin America. They do yearly trips to LA. If your school doesnt have one, search for one near you and get permission from your dean. Total immersion is really the best way to go for learning Spanish. oh, and by the way, it helps for residency applications and thereafter.

¡mucho éxito!

 

[Redpancreas]

if you are fluent due to upbringing or if it is your native tongue, then you wont need to take a test. The hospital translators will defer to you. However if you are riding on that "iffy" part, or aiming for that dubious "H&P" standard, then yes, you will have to prove you are fluent with a test. You should want it as well.

A basic H&P isn't enough. As CJ_cregg mentioned, so much of translating revolves around culture, understanding, hearing the nuanced words or phrases of the speaker once they trust you enough to share. A Mexicana isnt an Argentina. A Honduran isnt a Chilena. While I know most Americans think anything south of the Border is one big primordial Spanish language soup, it is not.

Suggestion- talk to your medical school faculty involved in global health initiatives in Latin America. They do yearly trips to LA. If your school doesnt have one, search for one near you and get permission from your dean. Total immersion is really the best way to go for learning Spanish. oh, and by the way, it helps for residency applications and thereafter.

¡mucho éxito!

Thanks Cell!

 

[cellsaver]

Thanks Cell!

De nada amiga/o.

Es mi deber

 

[medicalspanish]

I've thought about learning it, but I think even if I did learn it I wouldn't be able to speak it at a level high enough for me to assume FULL responsibility making sure the patient understands what I'm saying.

Translator phone it is...

Hey, OnePunchBiopsy, have you heard of/tried Canopy Learn?

 

[xoggyux]

Learning, in general, will always work in your favor. Learning another language even more.
In academics and research, the utility of Spanish might be limited compared to its utility in clinical practice in the US.
Asking how Spanish can improve your performance as a doctor and/or the quality of your care is like asking how communication can help a doctor. Off-course you will always get people going back to the "just get a translator, iPad" or whatever but let me tell you that is very inconvenient, time-consuming and I suspect prone to lower quality care.
I have read plenty of threads right here in SDN where the prevailing advice seems to be "don't bother". I beg to differ, if you already got the skill, chances are it will be very helpful. In some places, it is almost a must (Think Chicago, NY/NJ, Miami, some urban areas of California/Texas).
Even a broken Spanish is better than no Spanish. Back in Chicago where I did my MS3 we had an ID doctor with really crappy spanish and I am sure he would get a translator for the most delicate procedure/medication authorization but even his broken spanish was good enough for every-day rounding and checking on the patient. A time saver, builds confidence with your scared patient and makes you a more rounded individual.
So in short, if you have the ability it surely won't hurt you and in my opinion, it will help you a lot. The degree that it will help you depend on what kind of practice you have and where you practice (surely Spanish will be far more useful in Miami FL than in Kalispell MT). If you are talking about learning it from scratch, I still recommend it as it is the primary language spoken by ~40million people living in the US.

 

[Stagg737]

Incoming bilingual M1 here wondering about the actual applicability of Spanish to one's career as a physician. Aside from making life a bit easier when going through med school/residency (especially if you are training in certain parts of the country with large Hispanic populations), is there really anything unique a future physician like me could do with his Spanish speaking abilities that would help his career in a significant way?

For example:
If a bilingual doc one day wanted to get into academics and/or research, it's not like Latin America or Spain is a hotspot of medical literature, so Spanish isn't much help there. From a private practice perspective, speaking Spanish also is probably not going to be bringing in any lucrative patients, probably only more people from lower socioeconomic status with government health insurance (not that I have a problem with treating the underserved - just bringing a pragmatic perspective to the discussion for a moment)

Possible uses that come to mind:
If involved in public health research, a bilingual doc could perhaps get access to certain patient populations that (s)he would otherwise be pretty isolated from.
More freedom to work in different parts of the country (Miami, California, Southwest, etc.)
Could prove useful if getting into the hospital administration/business side of medicine and your hospital is located in a place with a large Hispanic population

What do you guys think? Any other applications?

I'll add the obvious, that if you're interested in international work or potential international research, speaking Spanish would be a huge plus. If you wanted to do international trips or global service you'd be a prime candidate as you could serve as both a practicing physician and a potential translator for peers joining you on the project.