Learning a Second Language Through Nursing

Nurses General Nursing

Published

When i was in college, I arrogantly declined taking the elective "Spanish for Healthcare Workers"... I rationalized something, well, arrogant.

Then I moved to another state and boy did I wish I took that class!

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Hindsight is always 20/20 :/

That being said, its never too late for you to learn another language...and you don't have to wait for another language-healthcare hybrid class to come along to begin learning.

Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

admittedly, i began a multi-language medical health class for beginners at the facility where i work, which has grown into a 3 shifts classes. i offer spanish, italian, and french and so far 22 medical staff have completed all 3 levels. therefore, it's never too late to become bilingual... ciao~ adios~ au revoir~ aloha~

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
admittedly, i began a multi-language medical health class for beginners at the facility where i work, which has grown into a 3 shifts classes. i offer spanish, italian, and french and so far 22 medical staff have completed all 3 levels. therefore, it's never too late to become bilingual... ciao~ adios~ au revoir~ aloha~

are any of these classed offered online? i could really use a brush up on spanish and having it be oriented toward medical would be great!

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Are any of these classed offered online?

There's a site that I use: 123TeachMe.com for Spanish. The site allows you to put in English phrases and will translate them to Spanish. And Visa Versa.

I also bought a book Spanish For Nurses by Rudy Valenzuella RN. The book really gets to the carne de la materia.

Davey (hacer) Do

Edit: Oh yeah- I was also going to mention that, as one of my Elective Classes for Nursing, I took a Sign Language Class. That was 25 years ago and I still use some of the basics with a Hearing Impaired Patient now and again.

Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.
There's a site that I use: 123TeachMe.com for Spanish. The site allows you to put in English phrases and will translate them to Spanish. And Visa Versa.

I also bought a book Spanish For Nurses by Rudy Valenzuella RN. The book really gets to the carne de la materia.

Davey (hacer) Do

Edit: Oh yeah- I was also going to mention that, as one of my Elective Classes for Nursing, I took a Sign Language Class. That was 25 years ago and I still use some of the basics with a Hearing Impaired Patient now and again.

I'm sorry, Davey, could you repeat that?...I couldn't hear you.:p

diva (very cheeky) rn

Specializes in Homecare, Public Health.

i know some spanish mostly learned from my patients and students.

i do use google translate on my phone when i visit patients in their homes. the written translation is good/not perfect. when it reads the translation out loud the pronunciation is hysterical. i also know the alphabet in sign language but it takes a long time to ask questions one letter at a time and usually the patient quits before i do lol.

my sup is supposed to look into medical spanish course for our dept. - i'm looking forward to it.

Specializes in nursing education.

Does AAVE count as a second language?

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

anyone ever pony up the cash for a Rosetta stone course? Was it worth the cost?

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

If you're trying to learn Spanish, I recommend watching telenovellas (Spanish soap operas). Just about every cable system has some Spanish language stations available. They're fun - and it really helps to tune in to the accent, pronunciation and cadence of actually speaking. . . something that isn't always possible if you're learning on your own.

Specializes in nursing education.

And Doce Corazones too! Besides being just a ridiculous escape of a game show/love match...I found it very helpful in learning some real-life vocabulary and getting used to accents.

Funny, that's how my mother learned English when she came to America- soap operas!

+ Add a Comment