At the time of the 2000 U.S. Census, 28.1 million people living in America spoke Spanish at home, and of that number, just over half reported that they could speak English "very well." Since 2000, sustained immigration from Latin American countries and the persistent use of Spanish by second- and even third-generation speakers have only caused the use of the language to increase.
This vast and ever-growing population of non-fluent English speakers has created an immense demand for Spanish speakers in the workplace, both as employees and as private interpreters, and nowhere has this need been felt more than in the realm of medicine. In the medical field, the ability of a doctor to communicate quickly and reliably with a patient can be the difference between life and death.
With this in mind, Tufts' Experimental College has opted to offer a new course this semester called "Medical Spanish." The course is dedicated to instructing not only the students who hope to go into the field of medicine as doctors, but also those who are interested in being interpreters and social workers. The course strives to teach both the vocabulary required to translate between Spanish-speaking patients and doctors, as well as the complex and varied interpretation techniques imperative during emergency medical situations.
In addition to working as an interpreter in many local hospitals, Lecturer Josep Vicente is fluent in six different languages including Spanish and Catalan. Although unfamiliar to many Americans, Catalan is spoken in areas such as Catalonia and Valencia, both of which are autonomous communities of Spain.
Vicente stressed the importance of courses like "Medical Spanish" for those who hold a passion for the language and may want to enter the medical field.
"The idea is more than interpreting word by word -- when you interpret, it is an act of communication," he said. "You have to be extremely accurate in an emergency situation: [An interpretation can] represent life or death because a mistranslation can lead to a misdiagnosis and a mistreatment, but the idea is to [also] get the nonverbal part of speech, which counts for a great deal as well."
Certainly a skill like this does not come naturally to anyone after only one semester of studies, but Vicente said he believes the course will still provide a good foundation for his students.
"Most interpreting courses in this country have the same amount of hours that we are going to have at the end of the [semester]," Vicente said.
"What I want for them is to be very exposed to Spanish all the time and to be able to react to many situations, because in a way, even for a trained interpreter, it's like [being] an actor. The more exposure they get to the job, the better they will be down the road, but I think that most of [the students] will be at a sufficient level to get started."
To hone these acting skills, at the end of every class, Vicente and his students engage in role-playing exercises, practicing difficult vocabulary and simulating emergencies in which the skill and poise of the interpreter can make all the difference.
Other universities seem to be acknowledging the importance of this unique skill as well; Boston College's School of Nursing and Indiana University's School of Medicine, for example, offer similar courses.
According to Vicente and some of the students, the class, which is taught in Spanish, seems to have been met with a great deal of enthusiasm from the Tufts community.
"The first day we had 28 people, and some of them didn't make it because the class was too big," he said. "We are very pleased with the reception: There is definitely a niche out there."
Luckily for those students who were not able to get into the class this semester, "Medical Spanish" has already been slated for a spot among the spring semester's course offerings.
Sigi Fostvedt, a junior majoring in Spanish, worked as a secretary in an Idaho hospital in the summer of 2006 and had the opportunity to witness first-hand the importance of Spanish in a medical environment.
"I would say that 35 percent of the people [who] came in didn't speak English, so even for me, it was very important to speak Spanish just as a secretary," Fostvedt said. "It's a huge barrier, especially in the West."
Even though Fostvedt had already studied Spanish for a number of years, she was also able to say confidently that this semester's course has already taught her new information.
"I really like it. [The class] is very relaxed and it's nice because the teacher is a native speaker," she said. "And what better way to learn how to be an interpreter than to practice, especially because you get the feedback that you wouldn't necessarily get if you just started working in a hospital? A lot of people -- even doctors -- don't really know how to work with interpreters. So this [class] is the best way to facilitate communication and really get the message across clearly and concisely."
And although the course has serious intentions, its atmosphere is far from stiff.
"We are all having lots of fun, the dialogues are very interactive and once the ice is broken, people love to be on-stage during the role playing. I am very pleased with the class as it is," Vicente said.
