subject: Medical Spanish Programs For Pre-med Students [print this page] If you are planning to go to medical school, you need to be at the very top of your game. After all, the admission process is quite rigorous. Often students go out of their way to beef up their skill set and enhance their academic resumes.
One way to achieve this is to attend a medical Spanish program in Latin America. This type of programs will allow you to earn college credit for a foreign language. At the same time, you will receive valuable experience that will get you closer to your goal of being a doctor. Learning Spanish and medicine often do not go hand-in-hand, and that is part of why this type of program can "kill two birds with one stone," so to speak. Some study abroad programs offer medical shadowing. You can observe real clinics with actual patients. Not only will you gather real world medical experience, you will also be immersed in an environment where everyone is speaking the Spanish language.
Studies have shown that when you can have real world experience before studying a particular subject, it will likely improve your academic performance. Additionally, you are more focused when you study in an immersion program, and therefore, you can relate things in the future to what you have seen during your travels.
So what would the typical day look like? A four-week program of 20 hours of class per week would end up equaling one entire college semester. You will also learn much more in a study abroad program as the classes have fewer students and are far more focused. Additionally, if you decided to take two classes over the course of a summer, you would receive two college credits.
Of course, you will save a good deal of money when you study in South America, as a class is about $750 for four weeks. When you compare this price to the costs at a private university, which can be $4000 a class or more, the price savings is substantial. This money that you save could be potentially put toward your medical school costs.
These days knowledge of the Spanish language really is necessary for medical professionals. Keep in mind that the US has more Spanish speakers than there are in Spain! If you can't understand what your patients are trying to tell you, you won't be able to provide them with the critical health services that they may need.
Another major consideration that inspires many students to attend a Spanish language program abroad is that this experience looks great on a medical school application. Many students applying for med school have never left the college campus. Therefore, if you have studied Spanish and medicine simultaneously, you will have major a leg up on the competition.
