Evaluation of a Medical Spanish Elective for Senior Medical Students: Improving Outcomes through OSCE Assessments.

Abstract

There is no standardized curriculum or assessment method that addresses Spanish skills in U.S. medical schools. The authors implemented a 10-week Clinical Medical Spanish elective for fourth-year medical students. Data were collected for 58 students from 2013 to 2015 pertaining to pre- and post-course self-evaluation of Medical Spanish comfort level and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations. Student comfort level with Spanish-speaking patients improved for performing history and examination skills (P < 0.05). Standardized Patient (SP) and faculty-rated fluency were each higher than the student self-rated pre-course fluency (P < 0.001). Fluency levels were higher than the faculty rating of student ability to perform the medical interview (P < .001). Differences in student self-rating, SP scores, and faculty assessment illustrate the complexities of assessing medical skills in a second language, and highlight the importance of training and evaluating medical students and hospital staff in the appropriate use of Medical Spanish.