Medical Spanish

[unknown99]

Does anyone know of a good site that I can learn better Spanish for nurses quickly and painlessly?

[unknown99, BSN, RN]

Thanks for the tip Megkirpas!!!

[lpnstudentin2010, LPN]

Thanks for the tip Megkirpas!!!

No problem...my family uses amazon for everything

[General E. Speaking, RN, RN]

Amazon is a good site and is secure. just type the names of the books aka "Speedy Spanish for Nursing Personnel"

:flowersfo thanks

[lalajenn]

http://www.studyspanish.com is also a good site to learn some Spanish. My Spanish instructor told us about this. They have oral exercises and a lot of other stuff. Good site IMO!

[unknown99, BSN, RN]

http://www.studyspanish.com is also a good site to learn some Spanish. My Spanish instructor told us about this. They have oral exercises and a lot of other stuff. Good site IMO!

Awesome site!!! Thank you!!!

[lalajenn]

You're welcome!! I hope it helps!! I am sitting here at the computer desk trying to learn Spanish through my telecourse class. :)

Awesome site!!! Thank you!!!

[rn/writer, RN]

I work in a large urban hospital on a postpartum unit. We have a fair number of Spanish speaking women come through our department, and while most of them have a spouse or other relative who can translate, a few do not.

We keep a large notebook on the floor with a variety of Spanish phrases, but we also have access to several interpreters and something called the Language Line which provides telephone translators for many languages 24/7. The language line is expensive but invaluable at times.

I can speak enough Spanish to cover the basics (I do better with the written word than with conversation) and would like to improve my skills, but here's the rub. My hospital is working hard to make a distinction between the day-to-day nuts and bolts of communication and actual medical Spanish. They appreciate those of us who can help a woman order breakfast and learn how to do peri care but they are cautioning us that unless we are really fluent, they would rather have us summon an interpreter or, despite the expense, use the language line. Why? Because it's hard enough, at times, to communicate matters of medical importance in English, especially when there is any kind of decision to be made.

I have also noticed that the Hispanic women we care for tend to be stoic about their pain and they are reluctant to "bother" us for other things as well. I would be very hesitant to rely on the book phrases or my minimal skills to obtain a consent for anything. Nor would I want to assume that my patient understood what I told her about meds or anything else of importance, knowing full well that she might feel the lack of understanding was her fault and keep quiet.

I would like to become fluent and have bought a stack of books and will probably take a couple of classes, but until I feel proficient, I guess I will do things according to my employer's recommendations and try to limit my communications to mostly non-medical concerns. If I didn't have access to any kind of interpreting, I might have to punt, but since I do, I suppose I'll behave myself.

Miranda

[comport]

that link goes nowhere...the site no longer exists apparently

That link is good. DON´t put www.

only http://Spanishfor nurses.tripod.com

[stidget99]

I would be interested in Spanish Nursing. Did you order it online? I checked the site and didn't see the "secure lock" on the web page. I'm leary about giving out credit card info on the net.

Thanks,

Kris

I believe that I called them and gave my credit card over the phone. You could also fax it or print the order form off and send it via snail mail w/ your payment.

[EmBeMap]

I volunteer at a large county hospital here in Houston,Texas. Daily in the ER we have a good 60% spanish-speaking patients. I am fluently bilingual and help out wherever I can with the translation (that's what they have me there for) but I constantly hear Docs and Nurses giving discharge instructions or trying to get consent for procedures with the most awful broken spanish in a neefort to save time. To me this is a legal nightmare waiting to happen. Any complications that arise that the patient did not understand the doc or nurse is now liable for at least morally if not legally. Until you are fluent enough to pass at least an interpreters test, ask for help for anything mote than como estas ?

[shannclt]

Not that I am anywhere near bilinguial, but any simple conversations that I can have with Hispanics/ Latino population I do (not hard to do in the ED). I carry around note cards with simple phrases, my palm has a great progam from Skyscape, and "Spanish for Health Care Professionals" by Barron's Publishing is very good.

Plus, I am researching immersion programs at the moment to attend in the next year.

**Key phrase.. simple commands and questions. Get an interpretor for consent or indepth assessments.