Amna Alzghari enjoyed her Spanish classes in high school and wanted to continue studying the language while majoring in biology at TCU. She felt it would be beneficial when she applies to pharmacy school.

So when she heard last year about a new minor, Spanish for Health Professions, it seemed like a perfect fit.

“This has helped me speak Spanish a lot better,” she says. “Before, I wasn’t as confident, but now I feel like I’ve got it.

“It’s also been really interesting learning about the cultural differences. My mom is from El Salvador, but I’ve still gained insight into how the Latin American culture views health care.”

Alzghari is among the first group of students earning the minor, which is the result of a collaboration between the Department of Spanish and Hispanic Studies and the Harris College of Nursing. It started in 2008 when Kris Riddlesperger ’85, associate professor of professional practice, and Nancy Moulton, instructor of nursing, approached Komla Aggor, chair of the Spanish and Hispanic Studies department, with the idea. Aggor put together a proposal that the University Council unanimously approved in Spring 2010.

The new minor was inaugurated last fall and requires 21 credit hours, including two semesters of Spanish for Health Professions, which is taught by instructor Karla O’Donald, a native of Mexico City.

Students learn specific medical vocabulary in Spanish and how to ask questions and provide answers to common medical situations, write medical histories and fill out medical forms in Spanish. In class, they read and discuss short articles and essays in Spanish that are related to the medical field and explain cultural insights into health issues that impact Spanish-speaking patients.

“We try to get rid of the stereotypes,” O’Donald says. “Instead, you have to understand the patient’s culture to get where they are coming from.”

Opportunities are offered for electives to boost oral communication and knowledge of Spanish-speaking communities within the United States and beyond, including off-campus service learning and study abroad.

“It has become advantageous for healthcare professionals in the United States to be bilingual as they are increasingly expected to master technical vocabulary within clinical settings and to function in a cross-cultural environment,” says Aggor.

The minor comes as the Spanish-speaking population continues to rise nationally and locally. According to the U.S. Census, 28 percent of Tarrant County residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, with 78 percent of those speaking Spanish.

With the creation of the minor, the two departments are working to accommodate the needs of time-crunched nursing students. Class schedules are programmed to allow clinicals to alternate between morning and afternoon sessions annually, and some upper-level required and elective courses in Spanish are scheduled with this arrangement in mind.

Darcy Schmidt, a sophomore nursing major seeking the new minor, sees the growing need for more bilingual medical professionals.
“We shouldn’t limit health care to those who speak English,” she says. “In Texas, we have a large number of people who speak only Spanish and they need to have access to the medical care they need and not be limited because a doctor or nurse doesn’t speak Spanish.”

On the Web:
Department of Spanish and Hispanic Studies
Harris College of Nursing