• students in medical Spanish course class

The Complete Medical Spanish Immersion Course

We are serious about medical Spanish

The medical Spanish immersion course in Peru is the fastest way to learn and improve medical Spanish skills.  Every aspect of the course focuses on language development.  For example, both language teachers and physicians teach the course.

Your classes take place at our well-equipped school in the charming area La Merced, in the colonial city of Trujillo.  Less than 10 minutes walk from each of our student homestay families.

For either 4 or 7 hours per day, you will take language classes covering general grammar, vocabulary, and conversation, as well as health care Spanish.

Learning begins before you arrive

Your Spanish course starts long before you arrive in Peru.   We will send you an excellent medical Spanish book and online vocabulary lists to review anytime on your phone or tablet.

You can learn language vocabulary anywhere, at any time.   By giving you a head start with vocabulary before you arrive, our teachers can focus on developing grammar and language practice.

This medical Spanish immersion course is one of few overseas courses awarded CME accreditation with AAFP.

So what is medical Spanish?

Medical Spanish is not a long list of vocabulary covering medical terms and instructions.  To use medical Spanish with patients, you also need to understand general Spanish grammar and so communicate in a healthcare environment and beyond.

For us, the importance of general Spanish means that we devote around 60% of our teaching time to general Spanish and 40% pure medical Spanish.  It is this mix that enables us to help students learn real medical Spanish entirely and quickly.

This focus on both medical and general Spanish, taught by physicians and language teachers, is what sets our courses apart

4 hours or 7 hours

Each day you will receive 4 or 7 hours of the course developing both your general Spanish and medical Spanish skills.

The course is taught at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.  Our team of language teachers in Trujillo rotates classes.  So each hour, you will have a different teacher, ensuring that the classes are always fun and stimulating.

Each hour is different

Each day the language course begins in the garden area with a one-hour conversation club where you will practice speaking and listening skills in a group with one of our teachers.

Students then break into classroom groups to take classes focused on grammar, vocabulary, and pure medical Spanish.   Lessons are relaxed and fun with teachers using various learning tools, including role-plays, games, and videos.  We measure your progress with regular tests and a final presentation.

Taught by physicians and language teachers

Experienced language teachers teach the grammar and vocabulary sections.  The pure medical Spanish element of the course is taught by healthcare professionals, who cover the essential areas of medical Spanish. See below for further details of the topics covered.

Having physicians teach this part of our course is unique, allowing participants to cover areas of medicine in detail and practice realistic patient role plays.

Where possible, we ask that participants begin their medical Spanish course on the first Monday of their chosen month.  However, we understand that not all participants can fit this into their schedule, so you can start on any Monday.

What participants say

The Medical Electives program was everything I could have hoped. Since returning to the U.S.A., I now feel comfortable talking to my Spanish-speaking patients without an interpreter

It is so rewarding to see your Spanish improve and to be able to get an insight into the Peruvian healthcare system

My teachers were absolutely phenomenal.  and did a great job of catering the Spanish classes to an appropriate level for me so that I felt challenged every day but not overwhelmed.

Specific medical Spanish course topics include:

  • Clinical history
  • Medical instruments
  • Parts of the body
  • In the hospital
  • Typical illnesses in Peru
  • Examination of the lungs
  • Gastroenteritis
  • Surgical instruments
  • Arthritis
  • Health care occupations and roles
  • Physical examination
  • In the consulting room
  • Food and nutrition
  • Describing treatments
  • Examination of the heart
  • Cancer: Prevention and treatment
  • Hepatitis
  • Urinary tract infections
  • Human organs
  • Administering medications
  • Common illnesses
  • Peruvian Health care system
  • Type of pain
  • Chest infections and tubercolosis
  • Cholesterol, triglycerides & hypertension
  • Resistance to antibiotics
  • Arthritis

Please let us know whether you would like us to include any additional health care topics in your particular medical Spanish course. Our team will develop the course material you need.

Full medical Spanish immersion

Your time in the classroom taking the medical Spanish course is an essential part of the learning process here.  But that is just part of the story.  This is a comprehensive medical Spanish immersion course with other elements to help develop and reinforce your language development.

Activities in Spanish

Each week, as part of the medical Spanish course, we include activities such as preparing traditional food, cocktail making, or salsa classes. These activities are a fun way to practice your Spanish while learning something new.

Each month our language teachers will also take you on a guided tour of the fascinating archaeological site, Huacas del Sol y de la Luna.

As part of your course, we enroll you at a great local gym, which also includes dance classes.

Community Health Fairs

Each week we partner with local authorities, the  Peruvian National Police, or prison service in Trujillo, providing community health fairs for those with limited resources.  We offer healthcare consultations and medicine at no cost to patients.

As well as assisting under-resourced communities, these health fairs are an opportunity for you to use the medical Spanish skills learned in the classroom effectively.

Family accommodation 

The great benefit of staying with a host family is the chance to live in a Spanish-speaking home. While this may seem challenging at first, it is the ideal way to reinforce your language skills. This is real immersion Spanish, and time at home is like taking an extra Spanish course out of the classroom.  We work with a small number of lovely, welcoming families with comfortable homes.

At the end of your course with us, we cannot promise that you will be fluent in Spanish.  However, you will not find a better immersion course to  give you the confidence to work in Spanish in a health care environment.

 

Jon - UK

The Spanish lessons were extremely enjoyable, and much needed as I arrived with only basic Spanish. I initially struggled to communicate with the doctors, but with constant practice and teaching every afternoon I soon improved. The teachers were always enthusiastic, and made sure that every lesson was entertaining.

Alex -USA

Being able to go to the hospital every morning and Spanish class every afternoon during the week plus having a chance to go on numerous weekend trips around the country made my experience in Peru incredibly worthwhile and well-rounded.

Django - Australia

I learnt lots and got along really well with my teachers. They were kind when I made mistakes but always corrected them, encouraged me to learn new words and made the effort to make every class exciting, interesting and challenging. I was amazed by their dedication to us and it was so wonderful to build a friendship with our teachers.