Learn Medical Spanish | Medical Spanish Course in Panama

For those doctors, medical students or healthcare staff in general, who would like to volunteer or have an internship (practicum) at a hospital or health clinic in Central America, it can be arranged as long as we receive your volunteering interview, complete résumé (CV) and a transcript of the highest or current level of medical education completed and/or a scanned copy of your medical license. Depending on the length of your medical Spanish immersion program you might be a volunteer at a MINSA (Panama's Ministry of Health) rural clinic in Bocas del Toro or Boquete, Panama, the Caja de Seguro Social in Boquete, or at one of the public hospitals in David. Your responsibilities will depend on your medical education, experience, level of proficiency in the Spanish language (YOU NEED TO AT LEAST HAVE A BASIC CONVERSATIONAL LEVEL OF SPANISH) and on what your supervisor decides. Some participants will be allowed to shadow doctors, others will be asked to contribute with administrative tasks and yet other will be able to have a more hands-on role. Remember, you are here to practice your Medical Spanish and help in anyway that's needed. Don't forget to bring your own lab coat!

Course Contents for Medical Spanish at Habla Ya Spanish Schools

Health professionals who interact with Spanish speakers are more capable to do their job if they know Spanish

The Importance of Medical Spanish

Any medical professional knows that in order to diagnose with precision, one needs the whole picture. The patient's symptoms, lab tests and physical examinations only give you a portion of it, but without being able to clearly understand the patient's past and current symptoms and his or hers clinical history, you could take more time than what is really necessary to diagnose or even misdiagnose.

Being able to directly and effectively communicate with your patient and his/her family without the need of a medical interpreter will definitively enable you to not only make a personal connection with your patient but to also provide him or her with the medical health care that you are really capable of providing. And lets face it, sometimes something very important could get lost in translation when using a medical Spanish interpreter.

Course Contents for Specific Medical Professions and Specialties

The following table provides a general outline for several of our Medical Spanish Courses depending on your specific profession. Depending on your current Spanish level you might not need to cover some topics or might need to work on your general Spanish skills before tackling others. The general course contents is designed to be covered in 40 to 60 hours of lessons (from 2 - 3 weeks assuming you already have a lower intermediate level of Spanish proficiency, B1). Certain topics, medical terminology and vocabulary related to a specific specialty can increase the length of your medical Spanish program.

Course Contents for Medical Spanish Courses at Habla Ya Spanish Schools
Physicians*, Physicians Assistants & Nurse Practitioners	Hospital Nurses	Office Nurses	Physical Therapists	Medical Assistants	Emergency Responders
Social Aspects: Introductions, Greetings, Farewells and Courtesies					Initial Contact
Communication Aids & Resources					Controlling the Scene
Medical, Social and Family Clinical History	Personal Life & Family Connections	Reception	Assessing Patient Orientation	Reason for Visit	Scene Safety
Symptoms: General, Skin, Eyes and Ears, Nose and Throat, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal, Reproductive, Urinary, Musculoskeletal, Endocrine/Hematologic, Neurological, Psychiatric, Trauma	Patient Orientation within Room and Hospital	Insurance	Assessing Patient Comfort	On the Telephone	Crowd Control
Vaccinations	Patient Comfort, Pain and Discomfort			Patient Information with Patient & Family	Patient Information
Medications	Numbers	Basic Information & Family	Ambulation	Insurance	What Happened?
Allergies	Taking Vitals		Numbers	Billing & Payments	Clearing a Building
Personal Life and Family Connections	Visiting Hours	Blood Draw	Working Conditions & Daily Activities	Paperwork	Pain and Discomfort
Physical Examination: General, Skin, Eyes and Ears, Nose and Throat, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal, Reproductive, Urinary, Musculoskeletal, Endocrine/Hematologic, Neurological	Pre and Post-Operative Care		Family Members	Triage	Chest Pain
Procedures: Drawing Blood, Urine Sample, IV	Ambulation	Physical Examination	Injury	Waiting	Abdominal Pain
Diagnosis and Treatment	Basic Commands		General Commands	Talking about Family	Head Trauma
Numbers	Positioning and Cleansing	Other Tests	Exercises	Taking Vitals	Heat and Cold
Dosage and Instructions			Lifting	Blood Draw	Automobile Accidents
Lab tests	Medications		Primary Complaint	Other Tests	Poisoning, Stings and Bites
Poisoning, Stings and Bites			Neck and Shoulder	Medications	Drugs and Alcohol
Preventive Health and Motivation			Hand and Wrist	Dosage and Instructions	On-Scene Treatment and Refusal of Treatment
Concluding Visit	Lab Tests	Injuries	Hip and Knee	Prescriptions	Allergic Reactions & Breathing Problems
Specialty Related Topics, Vocabulary and Spanish Skills	Food & Drink		Using the Walker	Motivation	Diabetes
	Pregnancy		Crutch Training	Office Hours	Childbirth
	Maternity		Stairs	Making Appointments	Burns
	Discharge	Concluding Visit	Preventive Health and Motivation	Referrals	Seizure and Strokes
				Ending the Visit	Transport

* Physicians must let us know if they have a specialty in order to cover specialized vocabulary, terminology and Spanish skills related to their specific specialty during their medical Spanish program. Or if you would like to focus on a specific area of your medical Spanish just let us know. We have plenty of experience preparing Medical Spanish Courses for Gynecologists, Orthopedists, Pediatricians, Neurologists, Oncologists, Nurses, Hospital Managers, etc. We can also prepare your Medical Spanish Classes to cover ethical topics and current health care policies can also be discussed or debated in class.

The specific contents of your medical Spanish course will depend on your current Spanish level and on your specific area of expertise. As Medical Spanish is provided through private Spanish lessons, your course will be adapted to your specific medical Spanish needs. If you would also like to have group lessons to work on your general Spanish skills and then add some extra private lessons to work on your medical Spanish, that can also be done. Contact us for more info.

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Course Structure for Medical Spanish in Panama

Each Medical Spanish Course is designed to suit each medical Spanish students' needs

Course Length & Spanish Proficiency Requirements

Our general curriculum for medical Spanish (without specialty topics or vocabulary) is designed to be covered in 40 to 60 hours of lessons (2 - 3 weeks of medical Spanish classes), assuming that you already have a lower intermediate level of conversational Spanish (B1).

If you are a beginner or don't know any Spanish, we will help you work on your general Spanish skills and at the same time we will introduce medical Spanish into your lessons according to the progress you're making, mainly with your conversational skills.

Class Options: Group and Private Lessons

Medical Spanish Classes are provided through private Spanish lessons. Students can have from 2 - 6 hours of private Spanish lessons per day, from Monday to Friday. Another option is to join our Group 4 PLUS 1/2 Course. This is a great option (independently of your current Spanish level), if you would also like to work on your general Spanish skills and easily meet and interact with other students at our Spanish schools. In this way you'll have 4 hours of group lessons to work on your general Spanish skills, and then 1 or 2 extra hours or private lessons each day to work on your medical Spanish.

If you don't know any Spanish, in order to fully benefit from our Medical Spanish Courses, it can take you from 6 to 9 weeks of Spanish lessons to reach our lower intermediate level of Spanish, B1 (if you would like to speed up the process, you can consider joining our Spanish Immersion Program by also living with a local host family while studying Spanish at our school). If you are not sure about your current Spanish level, please complete our Online Placement Test (upon arrival we will also interview to assess your conversational skills) and we'll get back to you and let you know where exactly you're at. To have a better understanding about our level system please click here...

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Course Rates for Medical Spanish Classes in Central America

From $11.50 to $15 per hour

Rates for medical Spanish classes go from $130 to $435 per week. The actual rate per week depends on:

how many hours of lessons you have each week (10 - 30)
if you have private lessons only or a combination of group and private lessons
the amount of weeks you sign up for (the longer the length of your medical Spanish study, the more convenient the rate you have access to)

Below you will find the prices for the following course options:

Private Spanish Lessons (10 - 30 hours of private lessons per week)
Group 4 PLUS 1 Course (20 hours of group lessons + 5 hours of private lessons per week)
Group 4 PLUS 2 Course (20 hours of group lessons + 10 hours of private lessons per week)

At Habla Ya we know that it's not easy to pay for something that you haven't seen, in a far distant country, miles and miles away: that is why you can PAY UPON ARRIVAL! No deposit required. But please remember to Sign Up & Register!

Rates for Medical Spanish through Private Spanish Lessons

	Amount of Weeks
Hours per week	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	each extra week
10	$195	$355	$515	$675	$835	$995	$1155	$1295	$1455	$1595	$1725	$1875	$155
15	$275	$515	$755	$995	$1225	$1455	$1655	$1875	$2075	$2275	$2435	$2625	$215
20	$355	$675	$995	$1295	$1595	$1875	$2135	$2395	$2625	$2875	$3095	$3375	$275
25	$435	$835	$1225	$1595	$1950	$2275	$2565	$2875	$3165	$3495	$3795	$4125	$335
30	$515	$995	$1455	$1875	$2275	$2625	$2975	$3375	$3755	$4125	$4525	$4875	$395

Rates for Medical Spanish through our Group 4 PLUS Spanish Course

	Amount of Weeks
Type of Course	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	each extra week
Group 4 PLUS 1	$345	$655	$935	$1195	$1375	$1635	$1895	$2125	$2355	$2575	$2795	$3025	$250
Group 4 PLUS 2	$435	$795	$1155	$1475	$1755	$2075	$2395	$2695	$2995	$3275	$3525	$3795	$315

Please note that there is no separate registration fee for our Spanish courses. Rates include: registration, level test, class materials and handouts, wifi internet connection at the school, certain cultural & social activities and access to all of the school's facilities. A textbook for your level is included when you sign up for at least 40 hours of lessons, and a course certificate is included when you sign up for at least 60 hours of lessons. Any of our six textbooks (for our six levels) can also be purchased for $10.

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