Spanish for health care workers (& Rosetta Stone)

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Specializes in Hospice, OB, Telemetry.

Hi! I would say about 40% of the pt's on my unit are Spanish speaking only. To orient them to the unit etc. I have to either use a translation line or hope a family member speaks some English.

Right now all I know in Spanish is how to ask if there is any pain, did they go to the bathroom, or how to say a few numbers in Spanish. I really want to learn enough to carry on a bit of a conversation with them at least.

Has anyone learned Spanish successfully? Does Rosetta stone or any other program actually work? I ask because it's not cheap and I don't want to waste my money.

So let me know guys. Thanks.

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Excellent question, I'm having the same problem and i hope someone can really help us out. Rosetta stone is very expensive but im not sure if it work.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Check with your local library--many of them offer language learning programs (including Rosetta Stone) that library cardholders can access for free, either in the actual library or through the library website/virtual collections.

Also, see if your local library is a participant in NetLibrary: that's a large virtual library that may have language programs that you could use.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Also check out community colleges. There are a couple here that offer Spanish for Health Care Workers which I'd love to take if I ever get a spare second.

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Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.

Rosetta is very good actually and really isnt that difficult to learn

Now I did not care for their one on American Sign Language

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Luckily, language is not a problem for me. I speak four languages fluently. (English, Spanish, Hangul and Russian). I am looking to learn Madarin next. Languages have never been a problem for me. I have a knack for them like some people have a knack for math.

I have heard from others that Rosetta Stone is good and Total Immersion is a good cheaper alternative.

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great thread! i never heard of rosetta stone, but i will certainly look into it after this. i've always wanted to learn spanish because as a medical assistant, it's difficult to get a job if you aren't bi-lingual. i'm thinking it would be beneficial as a nurse.

hopefully i can take classes for it in the near future. i should have totally payed attention in my high school spanish class :p

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Specializes in Nursing Informatics.

This site has free lessons and tutorials and you can practice with native speakers:

http://www.livemocha.com/

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In my experience, you get out of those programs what you put into them. The best way to learn whether you take a course through a bookstore-bought program or through a university/college is to actually USE it. You will do this at work because you have many spanish-speaking patients. Having both taken high school and college spanish courses as well as purchased MANY books to continue to learn on my own, here is my personal advice:

Take a college course to learn the basics. Not just the conversational hi, bye, how are you, but also verb conjugation, sentence structure, etc. THEN, purchase medical-specific books to broaden your vocabulary. I think that is the way to be best disciplined when starting out... you will remember the basics, and you will be able to read and say anything, even if you don't know what it means!

:) Just my :twocents:

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I took 3 yrs of highschool Spanish and a semester in college. By then I still knew enough to get in trouble but not be able to get back out. Once I had the basics, the best thing for my learning was being out there in it, day in and day out, in a sink/swim situation. I did an internship working with Hispanic migrant farmworkers one summer. I met my dh there (he's Mexican). Between the internship and my on-the-job Spanish and my Mexican family, that has helped me far more than formal classes. Formal classes are just that - formal. They don't teach you how to carry on a conversation in the real world...at least mine didn't.

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Specializes in NICU.

I've tried a few different Spanish programs, including Rosetta Stone. I didn't find that it was very helpful because the vocabulary was too general. I don't need to know how to say "The boy is under the airplane." I need to be able to say things more specific to nursing.

I found two very good products for improving my Spanish communication. The first is a set called Spanish for Health Care (Spanish at work series) by Patricia Rush and Patricia Houston. The set I got came with a text, a workbook, and some great audio cd's. I used the cd's the most.

http://www.directtextbook.com/prices/0130778117

The other is one I borrowed from the library called Spanish for Medical Personnel by Jarvis. It was a lot like the other set, but without the helpful cd's.

http://www.directtextbook.com/prices/0395963001

Best of luck to you.

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this site has free lessons and tutorials and you can practice with native speakers:

http://www.livemocha.com/

bellep-just wanted to say thanks for the link to that site. i signed up and am loving it!:up:

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