Learning Spanish

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Oct 14, 2005

I periodically watch the Mexican soap operas out here in California. I put the close caption on because I can read and understand the Spanish better than actually process it when I hear it. These soaps are not only entertaining (to say the least!) but some of them take place in hospitals! I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and I was surprised at how much I remembered. You can pretty much use it anywhere out here in southern California if you want. George Lopez isn't kidding when he jokes about going to a Jack-in-the-Box and hearing half-English/half-Spanish spoken. We used to call it Spinglish when I was in high school. Honestly, when you're speaking Spanish with older patients you have to speak a little slower anyway (just like with any older person) and you can keep up with the conversation by just knowing some very basic vocabulary.

ParalyzeDragon · Oct 14, 2005

I obtained a medical spanish workbook at Barnes and Nobel. It has been helpful learning medically related stuff for nursing, etc. I would go to their website. There is a lot of stuff out there. Or visit the store and ask the little book person for help.

cursenurse · Oct 14, 2005

i took a semester of spanish at a local cc. that helped alot with pronunciation, learning the rules of the language, etc. there is a great site www.studyspanish.com that will let you take quizzes and improve your skills. that site also has a link to an online translator where you can type in what you want to say to the pt and get it translated to any language you want. if you learn how to pronunciate the alphabet, and practice speaking it, you will feel more confident. in my experience, spanish speaking pt's are very grateful that you are making an attempt to speak to them in their language, they won't laugh at you.

Lauran · Oct 14, 2005

I am currently taking a class at one of the hospitals I work for called Workplace Spanish for Health Care. It is job-specific and teaches you how to communicate effectively in with patients. On the cover of the book there is a web site address: WorkplaceSpanish.com. It is a 6 week course on Monday nights for 2 hours and the cost was $35.00; it includes a 52 page manual, a cd which features a native speaker and an American pronouncing the Spanish phrases, as well as handouts about Latino/Hispanic culture, etc. You can get CEU's but I can't remember how many.

I am a Pediatric RN and I have done home care for the last 6 years covering 18 counties in TN and Va. I can't tell you the number of times I was sent to see a newborn or older peds patient and had to depend on a minor child to do the translation. Also, I have found out that I have admitted patients to home care and used the wrong name; hispanics typically have 2 first names and 2 last names; the first last name is the father's name which is the legal name; the second last name is the mother's maiden name. I don't even want to get into the legal and ethical issues of this!

Basically, I want to learn how communicate what is essential and how to pronounce it properly. And I want to be able to meet and greet my patient and family member using titles and short simple introductions. We all have the need to learn basic medical terms, and person information, etc.

Estoy estudiando espanole (how do I get the ~over the n?)

Hablo un poco de espanol!

Me llamo Laura

Buenos dias!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Oct 14, 2005

I was fortunate enough to learn Spanish and English equally, but I would have to agree that practice is the way to do it. Like Daytonite mentioned watching spanish shows or movies with the captions on them, reading, and practicing will do.

Good luck and have fun learning Español. :balloons:

KatieBell · Oct 14, 2005

An excellent way to gain confidence in your spanish speaking skills is to volunteer as a conversation partner. You assist a Spanish Speaking person to practice English in a conversational setting, and they assist you with Spanish. You get to meet a new friend, put volunteer work on your resume, and improve your speaking skills. :)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Oct 16, 2005

Estoy estudiando espanole (how do I get the ~over the n?)
Hablo un poco de espanol! Me llamo Laura Buenos dias!

Smarty pants! :chuckle

Jayla · Oct 16, 2005

You really need to just get over your self consciousness and just speak it as often as you can! (Most) people will greatly appreciate your effort and the more you use it, the easier it gets. I'm speaking from personal experience here. A Medical Spanish course is good if your more advanced; but take beginner's Spanish if you don't know grammar, conjugation, basic vocab. I highly recommend a Spanish immersion course in a Spanish speaking counry (Amerispan has medical Spanish courses in various countries). Practice is the best and ONLY way to really become fluent. Kudos to everyone here who is trying to learn Spanish! It's so important to be able to communicate with our patients! For those interested, I recommend the movie 'Maria Full of Grace,' and the book 'The Latino Patient' by Nilda Chong. Two excellent sources of insight into the culture.

sjrn85 · Oct 16, 2005

I was interested to know if any has taken any courses,study guides,books,cd's etc. to learn spanish. Ive picked up alot on my own but am definitly not confident enough to actually use it unless I absolutely have to and even then i sound like a complete idiot. So anyone with any tips or suggestions as to what worked for you.

Get over this feeling! If you don't use it, you won't gain proficiency.

Take every opportunity you can to use your Spanish. Subscribe to a Spanish newspaper, watch Telemundo, and most important, practice! If there's a Spanish speaking pt. on your unit, try to use what Spanish you know, even if it's just a few words. I've found that Spanish speaking pts. are for the most part very happy to let someone practice with them, and are very forgiving when it comes to language blunders.