51视频

06/26/2017
By Ed Brennen

As the Hispanic population in the United States continues to grow, so too does the need for medical professionals who can communicate with their patients in Spanish.

To prepare for this growing need, 13 students from the Solomont School of Nursing traveled to C谩diz, Spain, this summer with Asst. Prof. Valerie King for an intensive two-week language course, 鈥淢edical Spanish for Nurses.鈥�

Students learned medical terminology each morning in classes taught by faculty at the University of C谩diz, an international partner institution with 51视频. In the afternoons, students visited local hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and herb shops, where they were able to compare and contrast the U.S. and Spanish health care systems.

鈥淭he knowledge I gained and the new vocabulary I learned will be very helpful when discussing health issues with Spanish-speaking patients,鈥� says nursing major Sabrina Andrews, a rising junior from Taunton who was able to build on her two years of high school Spanish.

According to the , there were 39.3 million people who spoke Spanish at home in 2014 鈥� a 126.3 percent increase from 1990. The country鈥檚 Hispanic population, meanwhile, is projected to more than double by 2060, from 55 million to 119 million.

King knows firsthand the challenge of communicating with patients who don鈥檛 speak English. She works as a nurse practitioner in Dracut, where she estimates 30 percent to 40 percent of the patients speak Spanish.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge Spanish-speaking population here in the Merrimack Valley 鈥� in Lowell, Lawrence and beyond in Boston 鈥� so there鈥檚 a great need for this professionally,鈥� says King, who opened the trip to students of all Spanish proficiencies. 聽

Nursing major Chris Manganello, a rising sophomore from Braintree, took three years of high school Spanish but says nothing compares to being immersed in the language.

鈥淯nderstanding the Spanish language is one thing, but hearing how they speak and understanding the mannerisms was really helpful,鈥� says Manganello, who extended his time in Spain by going to Madrid a week before the rest of the group arrived and then staying an extra four days after the program ended. Along the way, he tried snails (鈥淎bsolutely delicious鈥�) and dogfish (a type of shark) and scored front-row seats to a professional soccer game in C谩diz.

In addition to their coursework, the nursing students soaked up the culture and beauty of C谩diz, one of Europe鈥檚 oldest cities, which is located on a peninsula on Spain鈥檚 southwestern coast. They learned how to make tapas, attended a flamenco show and explored beaches, gardens and cathedrals, throughout the trip. They stayed with host families, which allowed them to practice their language skills even more.聽

鈥淣ow more than ever, people need to experience other cultures and get to know other people鈥檚 points of view, especially in health care, where collaboration is key,鈥� says Manganello, who hopes to do more traveling in his nursing career.

Andrews, who enjoyed visiting the C谩diz Cathedral and eating gelato, says she returned home with a new perspective on the U.S. health care system.

鈥淚 was surprised that their health care in Spain is better than what we have here in a lot of ways,鈥� Andrews says. 鈥淚 was surprised how they incorporated their version of a Social Security card into their health care system, and how that granted everyone access.鈥�

Andrews and Manganello were joined on the trip by Megan Aukstikalnis, Scholastica Awa, Emily Cadigan, Mariah Friesz, Colleen Garside, Edilenie Guzman, Sarah Hoffmann, Alexandra Loblundo, Maeve Norton, Savanna Smith and Mariana Stone.

This was the sixth study abroad trip for King, who has taken nursing students to Ghana three times and once each to Chile and China. She鈥檇 never traveled to Spain before, and worked with the International Experiences and Study Abroad office to put the course together.聽

鈥淭he students had an awesome time,鈥� says King, who would like to extend the trip to three weeks in the future to allow more time for cultural visits. While the course was run through the foreign language department at the University of C谩diz, King says their nursing school has already reached out to her about possible future collaborations.