ALR November~December 1999

Books: A Spanish Medical Resource

An Introduction to Spanish for Health Care Workers
Robert O. Chase & Clarisa B.
Medina de Chase
Yale University Press, 1998 257 pp. $20

The goal of this book is very ambitious. With motivated students and a very dynamic teacher this book could be very useful. An Introduction to Spanish for Health Care Workers combines traditional language lessons with the vocabulary of the health care situations. The first indices of vocabulary are rife with medical words that are the same in both Spanish and English ... cardiólogo, secretario, and dermatóloga ... with the grammatical concept of agreement of gender with nouns and articles. El doctor Colón es neurólogo. La doctora Colón es ....

There is a much more complete vocabulary of body parts than is usually seen in a Spanish textbook. There are numerous activities easily adapted for children such as bringing in a Mr. Potato Head to class and distributing the parts. Then the teacher and students ask and answer questions “¿Quién tiene la oreja?” or “Qué partes tiene Ronald?” Students name the body parts in the target language as they assemble the model. Another positive item is terms such as “Me duele mucho/poco la cabeza” often appear. What seems like a small item in a language class communicates very much to health care professionals. The phrase means “My head hurts much/a little.” But the words say, “My head hurts me much/a little.” The book seems to not follow a specific style of teaching but appears to be easily used by a teacher following any given style. Each chapter begins with unambiguous statements of objective, “By the end of this chapter you will know/you will be able to...” Thus the structure of book commands focus and promises a measurable and noticeable increase of knowledge.

Creativity in mixing the basic Spanish to be taught with the technical is evidentiary when numbers are practiced by dictating vital signs of blood pressure, pulse rate, and temperature. There are a number of cultural notes discussing important topics usually not mentioned in neither medical school or language classes. The important role of family in the Spanish speaking world, and the need for a little socializing to start the healer/patient conversations are emphasized. There are several other small subtle items that can make a positive professional and personal relationship with the patient. The changing demographics of the USA make a text like this a welcome and needed tool for the professionals who deal with the growing Spanish speaking population of the United States.