Désirée A. Lie, MD, MSED, is a clinical professor of family medicine, Department of Family Medicine, and a researcher for the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, Keck Medicine of USC, University of Southern California in Alhambra, California.
Sonia Nodal, MPAS, PA-C, is an instructor of clinical family medicine and a Spanish instructor at the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, Keck Medicine of USC, University of Southern California in Alhambra, California.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2020 Mar;31(1):23-27. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000293.
This study describes and examines the short- and longer-term impact of a required longitudinal medical Spanish curriculum on physician assistant student preparedness and ability to communicate with patients in Spanish during clinical rotations.
Fifty-eight preclinical students participated in an 80-hour curriculum delivered weekly over 3 semesters. Teaching followed a framework of second-language acquisition and included structured grammar and medical vocabulary practice with didactic, interactive, and group assignments. Vocabulary and grammar were assessed with quizzes. Oral proficiency was assessed by faculty with Spanish Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) stations at midpoint and end using the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR), a 6-level scale (immediate outcome). Students self-rated proficiency and confidence and evaluated curriculum effectiveness for preparing them to care for Spanish-speaking patients (longer-term outcomes).
All students passed the written and oral quizzes. Faculty-scored ILR verbal proficiency at the OSCEs increased by a mean level of 0.5 over 6 months. Student self-assessed proficiency improved on average by one level from baseline to 24 months later. Students rated highly curriculum effectiveness, preparedness to communicate in Spanish during clinical rotations, ability to judge when an interpreter was needed, and the importance of medical Spanish to future practice.
A required integrated longitudinal medical Spanish curriculum was well received. Physician assistant students demonstrated short-term interval progression in Spanish proficiency, with improvements in both faculty and self-rating scores, and readiness to apply the skill to practice. They valued active learning associated with repeated practice with feedback, role playing, and interval assessments throughout the curriculum.
本研究描述并考察了必修纵向医学西班牙语课程对医师助理学生在临床轮转期间用西班牙语与患者交流的准备情况和能力的短期和长期影响。
58 名临床前学生参加了一个 80 小时的课程，每周在 3 个学期内进行。教学遵循第二语言习得框架，包括结构化语法和医学词汇练习，以及讲座、互动和小组作业。词汇和语法通过测验进行评估。口语熟练度由西班牙语客观结构化临床考试 (OSCE) 站的教师使用 Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) 进行评估，该量表有 6 个等级（即时结果）。学生自我评估熟练程度和信心，并评估课程对他们照顾讲西班牙语患者的准备情况（长期结果）。
所有学生都通过了书面和口语测验。教师在 OSCE 上使用 ILR 对西班牙语口头熟练度的评分在 6 个月内平均提高了 0.5 个等级。学生自我评估的熟练程度从基线到 24 个月后平均提高了一个等级。学生对课程的有效性、在临床轮转期间用西班牙语交流的准备情况、判断何时需要口译员的能力以及医学西班牙语对未来实践的重要性给予了高度评价。
必修的综合纵向医学西班牙语课程受到了好评。医师助理学生在西班牙语能力方面表现出短期的间隔进步，教师和自我评分都有所提高，并且准备将该技能应用于实践。他们重视与重复练习、反馈、角色扮演和整个课程中的间隔评估相关的主动学习。
