What language to learn...

[fullmetalphrm]

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I don't believe that there is a thread for just pharmacy on this topic, but what language should one really learn to be competitive in the field?

I think Spanish is the very obvious choice, perhaps French if you're really far north.

I guess in short I just want verification that I will probably have to learn Spanish, or if it's even worth doing so. It seems like everyone and their dog is becoming fluent in it, so should a pharmacist follow suit to stand out more in the field?

 

[coffee4drug]

My grandma is learning Spanish faster than English (thanks for her maid).

 

[owlegrad]

I don't believe that there is a thread for just pharmacy on this topic, but what language should one really learn to be competitive in the field?

I think Spanish is the very obvious choice, perhaps French if you're really far north.

I guess in short I just want verification that I will probably have to learn Spanish, or if it's even worth doing so. It seems like everyone and their dog is becoming fluent in it, so should a pharmacist follow suit to stand out more in the field?

Maybe Chinese?

 

[fullmetalphrm]

Maybe Chinese?

I've always wanted to learn that language, it's funny you mention it. I guess I want to make sure to learn a language that a large percentage of the population, and in turn possible patients, speak (which could include Chinese in some regions of the country). Although Chinese can be quite a good language to know in the event that one ever gets into the business end of the industry. I'll probably end up learning Spanish for necessity, and Chinese for personal interest.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

I'm fluent in Spanish, and can get by with Italian.

Can't say this has helped with my career any though...

 

[Its Z]

I don't believe that there is a thread for just pharmacy on this topic, but what language should one really learn to be competitive in the field?

Financial Language.. like EBITDA, Accurual, AR, Productive Hours, FTE, Credit/Rebill... simple terms in accounting yet very important in healthcare.

 

[Its Z]

I'm fluent in Spanish, and can get by with Italian.

Can't say this has helped with my career any though...

What's with the long hair in the avatar. Weren't you getting it chopped?

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Sounds like you are choosing your very first foreign language? Choose the one you really feel an affinity to, because each subsequent language is easier to learn than the previous one. So make your first one the one you really enjoy.

I would say, for retail (or hospital, but probably less use for language skills in hospital practice) pharmacy choose Spanish or whatever significant minority you may have in the area you live at (Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Russian, French, whatever). If you want to work in pharma industry, then Chinese or German or French or Spanish or Russian or Portuguese, depending on what you are more interested in professionally (ie research vs marketing) and personally (whichever language sounds more appealing).

As far as which one is the easiest, probably Spanish. But then again, Spanish was the third one for me (fourth if you count Latin, but dead languages are a different thing altogether).

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

What's with the long hair in the avatar. Weren't you getting it chopped?

Uh oh Mountain!! He's stalking me!

 

[Its Z]

Uh oh Mountain!! He's stalking me!

Yes, I've heard Mountain is a stalker.

 

[Its Z]

Of course this premise is what makes the movie "Fugitive" with Harrison Ford where Sela Ward says "Richard, he's killing me" gets recorded on the 911 call.. Authorities took it as Richard the good doctor was killing the wife...

Gotta Love It!

 

[Praziquantel86]

I wish I know more Spanish than just "Una momento, por favor. No habla Espanol". I'd say ~75% of my patients on my transplant rotation didn't speak any English.

On the bright side, I now know how to say "Prograf is for rejection" in Spanish. So that's fun.

I also wish I knew how to speak SAS and SQL. Research would be a heck of a lot easier for me.

 

[joetrisman]

Sounds like you are choosing your very first foreign language? Choose the one you really feel an affinity to, because each subsequent language is easier to learn than the previous one. So make your first one the one you really enjoy.

I would say, for retail (or hospital, but probably less use for language skills in hospital practice) pharmacy choose Spanish or whatever significant minority you may have in the area you live at (Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Russian, French, whatever). If you want to work in pharma industry, then Chinese or German or French or Spanish or Russian or Portuguese, depending on what you are more interested in professionally (ie research vs marketing) and personally (whichever language sounds more appealing).

As far as which one is the easiest, probably Spanish. But then again, Spanish was the third one for me (fourth if you count Latin, but dead languages are a different thing altogether).

Portuguese really useful in industry? I thought it would be cool to learn in undergrad as everyone takes Spanish. Now I regret learning Portuguese as I never get to use it.

 

[rph3664]

Everyone should know at least the rudiments of American Sign Language. It qualifies as a foreign language because it is NOT English. It does use English words, but has its own grammar and syntax, which is one reason why people who are deaf from birth or infancy are often functionally illiterate. 🙁

 

[owlegrad]

Everyone should know at least the rudiments of American Sign Language. It qualifies as a foreign language because it is NOT English. It does use English words, but has its own grammar and syntax, which is one reason why people who are deaf from birth or infancy are often functionally illiterate. 🙁

I did not know this.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Yes, I've heard Mountain is a stalker.

He stalks you??? 😱

 

[rph3664]

I did not know this.

Oh, yes. Their unemployment rate is even higher than for the able-bodied blind.

 

[pharmschooler]

It definitely depends on where you live, but I'd think the most useful second languages in most places in the US would be Spanish, American Sign Language and Arabic. In the place I volunteer, these would have served me the best, had I known any of them.

Unfortunately, I studied an Asian language I've never had a chance to use outside that country. I should have studied Spanish!🙂

 

[fullmetalphrm]

It definitely depends on where you live, but I'd think the most useful second languages in most places in the US would be Spanish, American Sign Language and Arabic. In the place I volunteer, these would have served me the best, had I known any of them.

Unfortunately, I studied an Asian language I've never had a chance to use outside that country. I should have studied Spanish!🙂

Thanks for the input everyone. Sign language is quite an important one, I'll have to look into it.

I may take a 'Medical Spanish' elective in pharmacy school if I get the chance, but more than likely I'll try to get Compounding Core Basics, Acute Pharmacotherapy, and either a Pediatric or Geriatric specific course out of the way first and may just end up learning Spanish/Sign Language/Chinese on the side. I'll probably have to end up traveling to a country for an extended amount of time to truly become fluent, but it will be an excuse to travel a bit I suppose.

 

[Lubeckd]

In nyc, in the hospital Im working at, there are a lot of spanish and chinese people. It sometimes make me want to learn spanish, so I can be super human. I cant believe one of my colleague who works there knows Polish, Russian, and Spanish, that is like superhuman right there >>.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Portuguese really useful in industry? I thought it would be cool to learn in undergrad as everyone takes Spanish. Now I regret learning Portuguese as I never get to use it.

Brazil is one of the biggest pharmerging markets (BRIC = Brazil, Russia, India, China).

I can more or less understand written Portuguese thanks to Italian and Spanish, but spoken Portuguese really throws me off. Funny how some languages are like that... I can understand spoken Dutch fairly well, thanks to German (and English, I guess, it's supposed to be the most similar language to English), but trying to read it is a nightmare.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

In nyc, in the hospital Im working at, there are a lot of spanish and chinese people. It sometimes make me want to learn spanish, so I can be super human. I cant believe one of my colleague who works there knows Polish, Russian, and Spanish, that is like superhuman right there >>.

Four languages is not superhuman, especially four European ones, when two are of the same family. One of my grandfather's friends spoke Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Hebrew in addition to English. That's crazy. And one of my friends works for European Parliament, and speaks 12 languages... given, some are closely related, but still, that makes it harder in my opinion...

 

[MindOverMatter]

1. Date a hispanic girl.
2. Learn spanish the right way, by having a little fun in the process.
3. ???
4. Profit.

 

[njac]

Everyone should know at least the rudiments of American Sign Language. It qualifies as a foreign language because it is NOT English. It does use English words, but has its own grammar and syntax, which is one reason why people who are deaf from birth or infancy are often functionally illiterate. 🙁

Yes, I was a relay operator during undergrad and have some very strong opinions about this.

 

[Momus]

Chinese Mandarin > English > Spanish (3 most common language on earth = you can communicate with 2 billion people if you know these 3). #4 will be Arabic if still have the time...

 

[apteryx]

I know enough Spanish to typically pick up on what a person is saying. But my next language to actually learn is Estonian. I know, why learn a language spoken by probably less than 2 million people worldwide (seeing as how the country has a population of ~1 million). But my in-laws are all Estonian, so it would be nice to be involved in a conversation when I go over there. Not the most marketable language, although I'm sure there's gotta be some way I can use it.

But yes, Spanish for work in the U.S. would probably be your best bet, followed by other popular ones like mandarin, Hindi, etc.

 

[rph3664]

In 1998, I worked at a community health clinic in Waterloo, IA which has (or had - a lot of them went back when conditions improved) a large Bosnian population, and they had just had a student who did rotations and her project was getting some common phrases and words used in patient counseling translated into Bosnian, and placed on alphabetized note cards. I said "uzmati jednu" so many times, I remember it to this day. That means "take 1 tablet....."

 

[SomeGuy]

1. Date a hispanic girl.
2. Learn spanish the right way, by having a little fun in the process.
3. ???
4. Profit.

You must be lost.

./ is right over here.

 

[charfdorn]

I don't believe that there is a thread for just pharmacy on this topic, but what language should one really learn to be competitive in the field?

I think Spanish is the very obvious choice, perhaps French if you're really far north.

I guess in short I just want verification that I will probably have to learn Spanish, or if it's even worth doing so. It seems like everyone and their dog is becoming fluent in it, so should a pharmacist follow suit to stand out more in the field?

It depends where you're going to work. Vietnamese might be the best choice. Spanish covers a lot of areas, but it's impossible to give a blanket answer to this question. French is useless in this country because everybody who speaks it speaks English, too.