Spanish for the Health Care Professionals

Class Code

SPAN-UA 9950.004

Instructor Details

Pablo Alejo Carrasco pac11@nyu.edu Office hour: by appointment

Course Details

Spanish for Health Care Professionals Mo and Wed 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Room: Maradona (ICAPA Anchorena 1266)

Corequisites

Open to students that are taking concurrently SPAN-UA 9010, SPAN-UA 9015, SPAN-UA 9020 or SPAN-UA 9004

Course Description

Nowadays, more and more in USA, health care professionals find themselves involved with patients who come from different parts of Latin America. Learning Spanish specifically aimed towards this health care context is a plus which must be strongly considered. Thus, Spanish for Health Care Professionals is a two-credit course designed to teach students the basic and intermediate skills of medical Spanish that can be put into practice in real medical situations. The main objective of this course is to achieve a communicative competence in medical Spanish through the practice of pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, and grammatical structures, all within the context of the medical professions. Focus is placed on role-play activities that will cover the most common medical procedures. At the end of the course, students will have acquired in-depth vocabulary related to the body, medicine, illnesses and other relevant fields, commands to tell a patient what to do during a hospital visit, or Latin American habits and idiosyncrasy which are involved in doctor-patient interaction. It is expected that students will be able to inquire what troubles a patient or to get all his personal information as well as to hold a typical medical interaction in communicative contexts. The goal of the course is to generate active participation through discussions of topics related to the medical profession, and through creative activities that imitate real-life situations. To achieve this goal, the course will employ a communicative methodology and a task-based approach, which requires students' active participation in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Spanish from the

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onset. Classes will be conducted in Spanish. As this course is aimed to students with different skills and levels, activities, preparations and homework may vary from student to student.

Desired Outcomes

1, To familiarize students with expressions, lexicon, culture and habits in Spanish for health professionals. 2, To acquire general knowledge of Spanish according to language level. 3,To improve / acquire competencies in four skills in Spanish: reading, writing, listening and speaking. 4, To prepare students to interact with differences in Spanish communications and cultures. Attendance and Participation Class participation is a key element in language learning, and is also a very important factor in your grade. If you are absent, you cannot participate and your grade will be lowered. For each class you will earn a maximum of 10 points for participation in all aspects of the class. Every late arrival or early departure will be penalized -4points. Performance and preparation refer to your contributions to the class activities, as well as assignments. Participation means voluntary participation -dont wait to be called upon. Your contributions should be informed and reflect the fact that you have studied the material. English is not allowed. Homework You are responsible for printing and completing the required material before class recitation as stated on the syllabus. You are expected to read each lecture carefully, learn the vocabulary, and prepare the required activities for each class. Since this course aims to improve students oral skills, some assignments will consist on making interviews to local people, preparing short presentations about notices on the newspapers, attending conferences at NYUBA center, etc. When preparing reading assignments, bear in mind that you will be expected to analyze and discuss the texts in both their form and content, to use the vocabulary introduced with each text and to prepare the activities that follow each reading. Role Play Situations This situation is a very significant key in this course. They cover the most common medical procedures. Exams There will be three exams (quizzes) in class and a final comprehensive exam. Note: Under no circumstances is a student permitted to take an exam before the day it is scheduled; this includes the final exam. You are advised to make travel plans accordingly. Grade Breakdown: Final grades are calculated over one hundred points. Failure to submit or fulfill any required course component results in failure of the class. Attendance, Participation and Homework Compositions (2) ____15%

Assessment Components

_______________________20%

Midterm _______________________________15% Quizzes (3) ___________________________ 15%

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Role-play situations (2)___________________ 15% Final exam_____________________________ 20%

Spanish Tutoring Sessions are mandatory for all students who obtain a B- or below in any written or oral assignment. Students must enroll in the tutoring sessions with the Language Coordinator, Prof. Silvia Luppino. Please consult with her regarding the tutoring policies.

Assessment Expectations

Grade A: All requirements are met. Interesting content and presentation; ideas developed with sufficient examples; substantive, thorough development of thesis, relevant to assigned topic. Supports ideas with specific, appropriate evidence. The student writes comprehensive essays / exam questions and his /her work shows strong evidence of critical thought and reading. Appropriate level of complexity in syntax with very few errors, if any. Excellent use of preterit/imperfect, indicative/subjunctive, verb/subject agreement, verb sequence, number and gender agreement, prepositions, etc. Logical progression of ideas with well-executed transitions, fluent expression, ideas clearly stated, succinct, cohesive. The writer arranges the details supporting the topic sentences and the paragraphs supporting the thesis in a logical and orderly sequence. Sentence structure is fluid. Uses appropriate and varied vocabulary, sophisticated range, effective word/idiom choice and usage, English influence not apparent. Written works: Correct spelling (including accents) and punctuation. Composition typed with correct format as specified. Oral: Fluent according to the level. Grade B: The student shows a good understanding. Interesting content; adequate range. Could improve with the addition of several sentences or paragraphs Effective but simple syntax, minor problems in complex constructions, several errors of agreement, tense, mood, word order, but meaning seldom obscured. Logical progression of ideas but often lacks transitions. Loosely organized but man ideas stand out, logical but incomplete sequencing Vocabulary: Adequate range with some variety; occasional errors of word, form, choice, usage, but meaning not obscured. Occasional errors of punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, spelling. Errors of pronunciation dont affect comprehensibility. Grade C: Work is acceptable and shows a basic grasp of the research problem. Errors frequently affect comprehensibility. Problems in complex constructions, tense, agreement, word order, articles, pronouns and prepositions. Some control of basic structures, tense, agreement, word order, articles, pronouns, and prepositions, gaps in logic transitions. The work fails to organize findings coherently and is in need of improvement. Non-specific vocabulary. Word repetitions, false cognates. Errors of punctuation,

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capitalization, paragraphing, spelling. Some English spelling. Frequent errors of pronunciation affect comprehensibility. Grade D: The work passes because some relevant points are made. However, there may be a problem of poor definition, lack of critical awareness, poor research. Inadequate development of topic, redundancy, shift in point of view, points not sustained or not fully developed. Details do not support ideas. Short. Errors affect comprehensibility. Very little control of basic structures, frequent problems in simple and complex constructions, tense, agreement, word order, articles, pronouns, and prepositions. Gaps in logic or no transitions, somewhat choppy; illogical sentence structure, ideas disorganized; examples, details, explanation follow an illogical order. Lack of variety in word choice, frequent errors of word, form, choice, usage, meaning confused or obscure. Problems with ser/estar, por/para, false cognates, etc. Literal translations. Numerous errors of punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing. Numerous English spelling. Numerous errors of pronunciation affect comprehensibility Grade F Cursory; gives the impression of writing just to complete the assignment. Little substance, no development of topic, directions not followed. Too short. Message is largely incomprehensible due to inaccurate grammar, which alters or obscures it. Reader must know English to comprehend much of the message. Disorganized; appears to have been written as thoughts occurred to the writer, non-fluent, ideas confused or disconnected, lacks logical sequencing and development. Few, if any logical connections. Only elementary vocabulary. Use of words in English. Numerous and serious errors of pronunciation affect comprehensibility.

Grade Conversion

100-93 92-90 89-87 86-83 82-80 79-77

A AB+ B BC+

76-73 72-70 69-67 66-60 59-0

C CD+ D F

Exams and Midterm and Final Exam dates cannot be changed under any circumstance. Submissions of Midterm exam dates will be scheduled with each professor and it must be before the break. Work Unexcused absences from exams are not permitted and will result in failure of the exam. If you are granted an excused absence from examination (with authorization, as above), your lecturer will decide how you will make-up the assessment components. Examinations in this course will intend to reproduce real-life situations, therefore the tests will integrate several skills (except where indicated).

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Attendance Policy

NYU Buenos Aires has a strict policy about course attendance. Students should contact their class teachers to catch up on missed work but should NOT approach them for excused absences. Absences due to illness must be discussed with the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs, Mara Pirovano Pea within one week of your return to class. A doctor note excusing your absence is mandatory. The date on the doctors note must be the date of the missed class or exam Absence requests for non-illness purposes must be discussed with the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs, Mara Pirovano Pea prior to the date(s) in question. If students have more than two unexcused absences they will be penalized by deducting 50 % of the class participation grade. Please be aware that in most of the courses the class participation grade is 20% of the final grade. So the 50% of the class participation grade would mean 10 % of the final grade. If students have more than four unexcused absences they will fail the course. Intensive Languages Courses: students who have more than three unexcused absences will be penalized by deducting 50% of the class participation grade. Please be aware that in most of the courses the class participation grade is 20% of the final grade. So the 50% of the class participation grade would mean 10 % of the final grade. Those students who have more than five unexcused absences will fail the course. Each class has a duration of one hour and half or two hours. Missing one class represents one absence. For those courses that meet once a week (three hours block), missing one class represents two absences. Students are responsible for making up any work missed due to absence. NYU BA also expects students to arrive to class promptly (both at the beginning and after any breaks) and to remain for the duration of the class. Three late arrivals or earlier departures (10 minutes after the starting time or before the ending time) will be considered one absence. Please note that for classes involving a field trip or other external visit, transportation difficulties are never grounds for an excused absence. It is the students responsibility to arrive at an agreed meeting point in a punctual and timely fashion. Holidays make up classes are mandatory as regular scheduled classes. Late work should be submitted in person to the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs during office hours (Mon Fri, 9.30 am to 5 pm), which will write on the essay or other work the date and time of submission, in the presence of the student. Another member of the administrative staff can accept the work, in person, in the absence of the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs and will write the date and time of submission on the work, as above. Work submitted within 5 weekdays after the submission time without an agreed extension receives a penalty of 10 points on the 100-point scale. Written work submitted after 5 weekdays after the submission date without an agreed extension fails and is given a zero.

Late Submission of Work

Plagiarism Policy

Academic Integrity Academic Integrity is intimately related to the teaching and learning process. Especially in acquiring skills in a foreign language, what matters is not perfection as much as each students natural, authentic expression in and use of the new language. Objectives for the learning process are set in accord with what would be expected for foreign speakers levels,

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not with perfect use. This is why it is so important that the work you do for your language class organizing, writing, and rewriting compositions, as well as preparing oral presentations and homework be your own, done without the help of others. This includes tutors, friends, family members, and on-line tools as well. The use of electronic translators and the excessive use of dictionaries are counter-productive for the learning process and hence must be avoided (unless otherwise indicated by your professor). When writing research papers, you need to keep in mind that plagiarism also includes presenting and/or paraphrasing discourse or ideas from a published work (in print or on internet) without quotation marks and clear acknowledgment of the original source. For formatting in your papers, refer to MLA guidelines. On matters regarding academic integrity, refer to the section Academic Standards and Discipline in the College of Arts and Science Bulletin http://bulletin.cas.nyu.edu/page/academic.policies#STANDARDS and to Statement on Academic Integrity in NYU Expository Writing Program: Policies and Procedures: http://www.nyu.edu/cas/ewp/html/policies___procedures.html#statementacademicintegrity

Required Tex(s)

An Introduction to Spanish for the Health Care Workers: Communication and Culture. Fourth Edition. Robert O. Chase and Clarisa B. Medina de Chase. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN 9780300180596. Spanish for Health Care. Patricia Rush and Patricia Houston. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN 0-13-040946-4 El espaol por profesiones. Josefa Gmez de Enterra y Sol Gmez de Enterra. Madrid: SGEL, 1994

Supplemental Texts(s)

TBA NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change Key to syllabus: L1: An Introduction to Spanish for the Health Care Workers: Communication and Culture. Fourth Edition. Robert O. Chase and Clarisa B. Medina de Chase. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN 9780300180596. L2: Spanish for Health Care. Patricia Rush and Patricia Houston. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN 0-13-040946-4 L3: El espaol por profesiones. Josefa Gmez de Enterra y Sol Gmez de Enterra. Madrid: SGEL, 1994. ISBN: 84-7143-504-8

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Week 1 Feb 10, 12

Introduction to the course Unit 1: Medical Interview.

Functional components: introductions, greetings, farewells, familiarizing with patient. Obtaining information from patient. Courtesy: expressing casual and polite. Describing people (p.21). Vocabulary: greetings, courtesy, healthcare professions. The body. Weight and measurements units (p. 24, 1.23). Verbs pesar, medir, vivir, cubrir. Frequency expressions. Nationalities (p. 15). Names in Spanish (p. 16). Grammar: Subject Pronouns; the Verbser (revisin: p. 5-6, 13); Gender and Number Nouns and adjectives (revisin: p. 11 y 12; p. 22-23)., Definite and Indefinite Articles. Presente del Indicativo for reflexive verbs. Polite and casual expressions with t and usted. Notional components: medical records. Patient-doctor relationship. Medical interview. Cultural note: Spanish-Speakers in the United States.
L1: Chapter 1: Buenos das, soy el doctor (selection)

Week 2 Feb 17, 19

(Unit 1)

Functional components: obtaining information. Inviting (to sit down, to lay down). Vocabulary: Symptoms and diseases. Expressions for pain, injury or hurts (p. 32; 69-70; 71). Numbers. Body (revision: p. 63-67). Technical vocabulary for the healthcare professional and ordinary expressions for the patient. Relatives (p. 101). Grammar: Verb estar and tener (p. 60), possessives (p. 35, 103), structure of the question. Verbs doler (p. 68-69), sentir, sufrir, tener dolor de (revision). Expressing your feelings (symptoms): other verbs (p. 71). OI in verbs of preferences (p.116-117). Perfecto Compuesto de Indicativo (revision: p. 71). Pronouns for OD. Use of a in OD for persons (p. 112; 115). Notional components: A flu (p. 58). Confidence with your patient. Types of patients. Heritage diseases (p. 114). Cultural note: General diseases in Latin America
L1: Chapter 2: Cmo est Ud.? (selection) L1: Chapter 3: Qu le pasa? (selection) L1: Chapter 4: La familia (selection)

Wedn. 19th Week 3 Feb 24, 26

Quiz 1
(Unit 1. Revision.) Functional components: patient`s sensations. Describing a patient and symptoms. Vocabulary: adjectives and expressions for symptoms (p. 190-192). Healthcare specialties (list: p. 7-8). Diagnosis (p. 195-196). Grammar: possessives, verbs with pronouns, nouns and adjectives. Irregular verbs in Present. Imperative. Ir + infinitive (p. 188). Notional components: Interviews L1: Chapter 8: El examen fsico (selection)

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Wedn. 26th

Role-play

Week 4 Mar 5-7 (make up for March 3rd; Mar 3rd: holiday)

Unit 2. Examination.

Functional components: request symptoms (p. 244-245), give instructions to treat a disease. Vocabulary: diseases and symptoms in medical history (p.231-232; 234-237), internal organs (p. 248), medical tools, body (revision). Usual procedures (p. 250). Verbs doler, padecer (p.233), sufrir, tener. Verb poner (vaccines; p. 252). Grammar: Irregular participles. Interrogative sentences. Imperativo. Pretrito Perfecto de Indicativo (revision: p.238). Indefinite pronouns (p. 242-243). Notional components: Tuberculosis. Vaccine programs.
L1: Chapter 10: Padecimientos e historia mdica. (selection)

Friday 7th

Composition 1 (first version).

Week 5 Mar 10-12

(Unit 2)

Functional components: give instructions for pressure, temperature and blood analyisis. Narrate in the past: accidents, diseases and dietary habits. Preparation for a laboratory`s analysis (p.171). Vocabulary: medical tools; body; injuries; laboratories terms; measurement units; dietary habits and foods (p. 157; 161; 166). Daily activities (p.265-266). Grammar: Imperative. The Pretrito Perfecto Compuesto de Indicativo (revision). Pretrito Perfecto Simple (p. 206; 210) & Pretrito Imperfecto de Indicativo (p. 218-220). Obligations (p. 167). Verbs querer and preferir (revision: p. 163). Reflexive verbs (p. 265-266). Notional components: blood test; lab`s tests; blood banks. Healthy diets. Weight loss. Reading: lab`s reports;
L1: Chapter 7: La nutricin y las dietas (selection) L1: Chapter 10: Qu pas? (selection) Composition 1 (2nd version) Friday 14th Week 6 Mar 17, 19, 21 (Make up for March 24th) (Unit 2)

Functional components: phone appointments; emailing to a patient or to a doctor. give instructions for pressure, temperature and blood analyses. Narrate in the past: accidents, diseases and dietary habits (revision of week 5th). Vocabulary: Week days (p. 37); months dates (p. 87-88); schedules (p. 89). Grammar: Basic questions (with courtesy) (p. 91-92). Pretrito Perfecto Simple (p. 206; 210) & Pretrito Imperfecto de Indicativo (p. 218-220) (revisin of week 5th). Imperativo Presente (revision). Notional components: phone chat and interview. Writing: emailing; a letter (structure). Justifications.

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L1: Chapter 4: El recepcionista (selection) L1: Chapter 10: Qu pas? (selection) Friday 21st

Midterm

Week 7 Mar 25, 7:00pm Mar 26 (March 24th: holiday)

Unit 3: Medications and prescriptions. Surgery.

Tuesday 25th: Apr 2nd)

Lecture: Epidemiology and Public Health (mandatory; make up for

Functional components: prepare Healthcare personnel for entering an operating room; instructions for treating diseases and medications dosis. Vocabulary: medicines (p. 128; 138-139 ; 145); injuries; surgery tools (p. 133-134); Grammar: regular and irregular verbs in the past; IR + INFINITIVE, AL / DEL, Presente de Imperativo (p. 140). OD and OI in verbs tomar (p. 129) and dar (p. 148). Algn/a-s + noun (p. 143). Notional components: prescriptions; medical examination; operating room.
L1: Chapter 6: La farmacia (selection) Homework: p. 141, 6.11 / p. 142, 6.12 / p143-44, 6.13

Wedn. 26

Quiz 2

Week 8 March 31 (April 2: Holiday)

(Unit 3)

Functional components: Interview and lead patients conversation. Calm your patient before a surgery (p.215). Reviewing a report to your patient (p.213); instructions for treating diseases and medications doses (revision of week 7th). Vocabulary: tests; schedule; specific expressions to calm; pre-surgery interview (p. 214-215). Some surgeries and procedures (p. 250). Hospital admission (p.261-262) and discharge (p.271-272); medicines (p. 128; 138-139 ; 145) (revision of week 7th). Grammar: Verbs dormir and poder (p.271-272). Reflexive verbs with OI (p.269). OD and OI in verbs tomar (p. 129) and dar (p. 148). Algn/a-s + noun (p. 143) (revision of week 7th). Notional components: Plan a hospital admission and discharge; prescriptions (revision of week 7th).
L1: Chapter 9: Qu pas? (selection)

Week 9 Apr 7, 9, 11 (Make up for May 26th)

(Unit 3; & general revision of week 7th and 8th)

Functional components: Warnings and indications. Vocabulary: Medication allergies (145). Diseases and injuries. Tests. Patients schedule Grammar: Verb tomar (p.129). Expressions for mandatory instructions: hay que / tiene

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que. Commands with courtesy (p. 130-133). Notional components: Medication allergies. Asthma (p. 146 / 147). Doses. Diseases treatment and medication doses.
L1: Chapter 6: La farmacia (selection) L2: Lesson 9: Problemas de salud (selection) Homework: p. 134-135 Tuesday 8th Friday 11th Apr 14-18 Week 10 Apr 21, 23 Lecture: Science in Argentine (7 pm; optional). Role-play 1 Spring Break Unit 4: Emergency and accident.

Functional components: Obtain information about an accident: from professionals, paramedics, nurses, relatives, acquaintances. Tell this accident in the past. Vocabulary: emergency room; different types of hospitals. Expressions for the past. Grammar: Pretrito Perfecto Simple. Presente del Subjuntivo & Imperfecto to warn and advice) (p. 237; 244; 250). OI & OD pronouns (revision: p. 224-225). Reflexive verbs with OI. Notional components: Emergencies and accidents.
L2: Lesson 11: A dnde tengo que ir? (p. 297-320) L3: Unit 9: Primeros auxilios (p. 124-126) Composition 2 (1st version) Friday 25th Quiz 3 Vocabulary.

Monday 21st

Week 11 Apr 28, 30

(Unit 4)

Functional components: Describe the past (revision). Patients expressions of health diseases and feelings. Vocabulary: Types of accidents and injured persons. Narrative sequences Grammar: Pretrito Imperfecto de Subjuntivo. Revision and completion of week 10th. Notional components: Addictions. Car accidents.
L1: Chapter 9, p. 205 a 213 del libro. L2: Lesson 9: Problemas de salud

Visit TBA
Composition 2 (2nd version)

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Week 12 May 5, 7, 9 (Make up for May 28th)

(Unit 4)

Functional components: Narrate in the past (revision). Calm and give instructions to relatives. Talk about the future, real and unreal. Vocabulary: Narrative sequences (revision). Parts of a hospital. Expressions for advises, recommendations and advises. Sentarse, dormir", poder and others. Daily activities verbs. Vocabulary for hospital admission and discharge. Grammar: Pretrito Imperfecto de Indicativo. Condicional Simple & Compuesto, Presente & Pretrito Imperfecto del Subjuntivo. Conditional clauses (real and unreal). Expressions for possibilities & hypothesis. Notional components: Relatives and reactions. Emergencies. Admissions and discharges.
L1: L1: L2: L2: Chapter 9, p. 215 / 216 Chapter 11, p. 261 a 273 Lesson 9: Problemas de salud Chapter 10 En el hospital

Week 13 May 12, 14

Review for final exam Role-play 2

Week 14

Final exam: May Monday 19, 11:00 1:00

Classroom Etiquette

Classroom etiquette is meant to optimize the learning environment and help create a sense of community, mutual respect and clear cooperation for all. In that spirit, it is required that students not consume food or gum in the class. Also, electronic devices can only be used if the professor deems them appropriate. Cell phone calls, text messaging, social media, etc. have no place in the class and are obstacles to a learning communitys group dynamic. Please use them only outside the classroom and with your professors authorization.

Required Cocurricular Activities Suggested Cocurricular Activities

Mandatory Lecture and Outing Series conferences and/or field trips (TBA)

Non-mandatory Lecture and Outing Series and activities organized by Student Life are strongly suggested, in order to gain more contact not only with the language but also with local reality.

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Your Instructor Pablo A. Carrassco Pablo A. Carrasco has been teaching Spanish for almost 15 years and he currently specializes in Spanish for the health professionals. He was part of CONICET (National Research Institute in Argentina), researching about culture and Spanish language in the South of United States. He also has published several articles on specific subjects in national and international congresses. At the moment, he is Director of Foreign Languages Department in Barcel Foundation, an Institution devoted to Health and Medicine teaching, and leading a research focused on communications matters in medicine, specifically in an intercultural environment.

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