What is a good resource for learning medical Spanish?

[IfnotnowWhen]

Hello allnurses team!

I am currently located in a hospital with a large Spanish speaking population. I have been getting by on some of my rudimentary Spanish but need some more skills.

Is there a book, CD, program that any of you could recommend? I have looked on Amazon (too few reviews). Rosetta Stone is very expensive and does not focus on medical terms. If anyone has had a great medical Spanish textbook, that would also work.

I am looking for things like asking about patient history, medical terms, ROS etc.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Gracias todos!

Ifnotnowwhen

[oaktown2]

I had started this, but then got distracted, so I can't comment on it much, but they have an online version and it is medical spanish specific. http://yalepress.yale.edu/salud/

[lili718]

For my class we use Spanish for Healthcare by Patricia Rush/ Patricia Houston 2nd edition. The textbook works great for me as well as the online portion we have. It starts with the basics- Numbers, letters. Then moves on to getting history then to actual conditions/ procedures. I also reccomend a spanish dictionary/ verb book for conjugating verbs as it has a lot, but not everything. You can buy the paper book on amazon, etc. and purchase the online resources separately on the pearson site. Or just use the e-book that comes with the online resoures (exact same book, but I have both as I prefer not to read on the computer)

[IfnotnowWhen]

Thank you so much lili and oaktown. That Au Salud! looks like a great resource. Lily, I will be looking for your book at half.com as well as a book on verb conjugation.

Thank you very much for your input.

[DeeAngel]

They are pushing at work for us to learn some Spanish. I will be damned if I am going to under take the time and hassle to learn another language for people who come here and make no attempt to learn the language of their "adopted" country.

It would be like me going to another country and demanding that everyone around me learn to speak English just so they could converse with me. I think that attitude smacks of entitlement mindedness.

Let it rest on the shoulders of your facility to provide 24/7 interpreters to service their customer base, not the nursing staff. It's not my responsibility to do this for them, I think asking staff the learn a new language is just asking too much, it's not like it's a 2 hr mandatory education requirement.

My free time is just that, free time for ME.

[missladyrn]

They are pushing at work for us to learn some Spanish. I will be damned if I am going to under take the time and hassle to learn another language for people who come here and make no attempt to learn the language of their "adopted" country.

It would be like me going to another country and demanding that everyone around me learn to speak English just so they could converse with me. I think that attitude smacks of entitlement mindedness.

Let it rest on the shoulders of your facility to provide 24/7 interpreters to service their customer base, not the nursing staff. It's not my responsibility to do this for them, I think asking staff the learn a new language is just asking too much, it's not like it's a 2 hr mandatory education requirement.

My free time is just that, free time for ME.

I have had the need for medical services in another country and I was extremely grateful for the staff that spoke a little bit of English. And that entitlement attitude you speak of, your wearing it. And it doesn't look pretty. The patients are not demanding we speak with them, but some of us want to learn because we want to be able to speak with our patients. All of them. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

[Emergency RN]

hello allnurses team! i am currently located in a hospital with a large spanish speaking population. i have been getting by on some of my rudimentary spanish but need some more skills. is there a book, cd, program that any of you could recommend? i have looked on amazon (too few reviews). rosetta stone is very expensive and does not focus on medical terms. if anyone has had a great medical spanish textbook, that would also work. i am looking for things like asking about patient history, medical terms, ros etc.

any input would be greatly appreciated. gracias todos! ifnotnowwhen

skyscape, the pda medical programs vendor, sells two programs that you may find interest in. one is their rapid rescue spanish:

rapid rescue spanish provides the essential questions and answers needed to perform complete assessments, discuss treatment plans, and manage all aspects of patient care and transportation for spanish-speaking patients. perfect for the classroom and the field.

key features

• appropriate for any health care provider conducting initial assessment.
  
• organized to follow the sequence of an actual ems call, this field guide covers everything from arrival at the scene to arrival at the hospital.
  
• questions are specially structured to use words that are easier to pronounce for non-spanish speakers.
  
• answers to assessment questions are the most common and most likely responses given by spanish-speaking patients.
  
• acronyms and mnemonics commonly used in ems complaint-specific assessments make locating assessment questions quick and easy.
  
• sections are organized by most common types of medical complaints.
  

...and the the other is english & spanish medical words and phrases:

english & spanish medical words & phrases, covers thousands of key terms and phrases used in clinician-patient interactions. this latest update is based on the [color=#990000]4th edition and it includes additional features and enhanced functionality. it's the perfect resource for nurses and other health care professionals who care for spanish-speaking patients or whose primary language is spanish.

coverage includes patient teaching, hospital admission and discharge planning, diagnostic tests, therapeutic procedures, history and physical examination, body systems assessment, medical equipment and supplies, nutrition and diet therapy, medication teaching, home care, and complementary and alternative therapies. whether you are a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional, you will be able to communicate with confidence when caring for your patients.

key features

• new pronunciation guide for common medical terms.
  
• it presents english and spanish translations of all medical terms and phrases used in clinician-patient interactions.
  
• a must-have for any health care professional who cares for spanish-speaking patients.
  
• covers important terms related to every aspect of patient care, including systems assessment, patient teaching, discharge, medical equipment and supplies, diagnostic tests, treatments, nutrition and diet therapy, and complementary and alternative therapies.
  
• anatomical illustrations are included to facilitate communication. this fourth edition includes an english-spanish picture dictionary and spanish pain-rating scales.
  

i've found both to be very useful.

[JayVArn]

They are pushing at work for us to learn some Spanish. I will be damned if I am going to under take the time and hassle to learn another language for people who come here and make no attempt to learn the language of their "adopted" country.

It would be like me going to another country and demanding that everyone around me learn to speak English just so they could converse with me. I think that attitude smacks of entitlement mindedness.

Let it rest on the shoulders of your facility to provide 24/7 interpreters to service their customer base, not the nursing staff. It's not my responsibility to do this for them, I think asking staff the learn a new language is just asking too much, it's not like it's a 2 hr mandatory education requirement.

My free time is just that, free time for ME.

Seriously? That's up there with "why doesn't that homeless person just get a job at McDonalds" in terms of broad misguided statements. I won't touch that one with a ten foot pole. They asked an honest question, and wanted an honest answer. Save your opinion for Fox and Friends.

To answer your question, I took a medical spanish class online at my local community college, it was cheap and educational. Good luck.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

They are pushing at work for us to learn some Spanish. I will be damned if I am going to under take the time and hassle to learn another language for people who come here and make no attempt to learn the language of their "adopted" country.

It would be like me going to another country and demanding that everyone around me learn to speak English just so they could converse with me. I think that attitude smacks of entitlement mindedness.

Let it rest on the shoulders of your facility to provide 24/7 interpreters to service their customer base, not the nursing staff. It's not my responsibility to do this for them, I think asking staff the learn a new language is just asking too much, it's not like it's a 2 hr mandatory education requirement.

My free time is just that, free time for ME.

Feel free to start your own thread to rant about people who don't speak English in a country with no official language. This thread is about resources for those of us who want to learn Spanish.

Thanks to everyone else for the suggestions: we have language lines at work but it's kinda a pain to drag them out for every little thing and I'd like to be able to communicate directly with my patients as much as possible.

[celtickimba]

I know what you mean. Its pretty crazy..

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

I just posted on another thread. There's an app called Polyglot Medical Spanish you might find useful.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/polyglot-med-spanish/id421199869?mt=8

Just realized how old this thread is. Ah well.

[npbettina]

I have found the following audio program to be helpful:

Spanish for the Busy Medical Professional Audiobook | David Rappoport | Audible.com

It has just the right mix of basic Spanish and medical terms. To be clear, I was a complete beginner in Spanish. I had taken Spanish in high school, but...