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I got this article from my premed dean. Sounds like good news to me! 😎 It may help to answer questions about whether or not one should take Spanish before entering med school to get a head start. (You know I think so!) 😀
The article is from the Chronicle of Higher Educaiton.
_________________________________________________________________
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Wake Forest U. Medical School Adds Spanish-Language
Requirement
By KATHERINE S. MANGAN
Fourth-year students at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine are now required to study Spanish, so they will be
able to communicate with the growing number of Hispanic
patients whom doctors serve. The requirement is believed to be
the first of its kind in the nation.
For the last four weeks of their final year, students must
attend intensive Spanish classes an hour a day, five days a
week. The classes are taught by instructors from the nearby
Forsyth Technical Community College.
Between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic population in North
Carolina jumped 384 percent, compared with a 21-percent
increase for the state's general population, according to U.S.
Census figures. In Forsyth County, where Wake Forest is
located, the increase in the Hispanic population was 831
percent.
"The classes are focused on medical Spanish. Students aren't
going to be conjugating verbs or learning how to order in a
restaurant," says Venita W. Morell, an associate professor of
family and community medicine who directs the medical school's
Phase Five, the final stage before students begin their
residencies.
The students will, however, be able to communicate -- at least
at a basic level -- with patients who don't speak English. The
students will, for instance, learn to greet patients and ask
them if they are taking medications and whether they're in
pain. They will also be able to refer them to translators for
more in-depth information.
"The patient may have a child acting as a translator, which
you don't want, especially if the medical problem is a
personal matter," Dr. Morell says.
The Spanish requirement is part of a general overhaul of Wake
Forest's medical curriculum.
Although other medical schools encourage students to study
Spanish or learn about the cultures of their patients, "It's
unusual that a medical school would require the students to
take a language," says Deborah Danoff, assistant vice
president for medical education for the Association of
American Medical Colleges. She said that as far as she knows,
Wake Forest is the first to do so. 😛
The article is from the Chronicle of Higher Educaiton.
_________________________________________________________________
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Wake Forest U. Medical School Adds Spanish-Language
Requirement
By KATHERINE S. MANGAN
Fourth-year students at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine are now required to study Spanish, so they will be
able to communicate with the growing number of Hispanic
patients whom doctors serve. The requirement is believed to be
the first of its kind in the nation.
For the last four weeks of their final year, students must
attend intensive Spanish classes an hour a day, five days a
week. The classes are taught by instructors from the nearby
Forsyth Technical Community College.
Between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic population in North
Carolina jumped 384 percent, compared with a 21-percent
increase for the state's general population, according to U.S.
Census figures. In Forsyth County, where Wake Forest is
located, the increase in the Hispanic population was 831
percent.
"The classes are focused on medical Spanish. Students aren't
going to be conjugating verbs or learning how to order in a
restaurant," says Venita W. Morell, an associate professor of
family and community medicine who directs the medical school's
Phase Five, the final stage before students begin their
residencies.
The students will, however, be able to communicate -- at least
at a basic level -- with patients who don't speak English. The
students will, for instance, learn to greet patients and ask
them if they are taking medications and whether they're in
pain. They will also be able to refer them to translators for
more in-depth information.
"The patient may have a child acting as a translator, which
you don't want, especially if the medical problem is a
personal matter," Dr. Morell says.
The Spanish requirement is part of a general overhaul of Wake
Forest's medical curriculum.
Although other medical schools encourage students to study
Spanish or learn about the cultures of their patients, "It's
unusual that a medical school would require the students to
take a language," says Deborah Danoff, assistant vice
president for medical education for the Association of
American Medical Colleges. She said that as far as she knows,
Wake Forest is the first to do so. 😛
