This four-week course combines general Spanish lessons, specific medical Spanish training, an overview of healthcare systems in Latin America and a significant amount of medical shadowing in a private hospital in Buenos Aires. The program provides participants with the linguistic and practical skills set to maximize their chances to enter medical school, to complement medical school training, to enhance physician-patient interactions with Spanish-speaking patients in a specific cultural context and to improve their skills in an increasingly demanding job market.
all year-round for individual students. May, June and July usually are in higher demand for this course.
4 weeks. Extensions possible.
The overall four-week program is 105 hours, equivalent to 7 US credits.
1 – 8
All mornings and part of the afternoons.
Students who are Spanish beginners must start with a three-week Spanish intensive course (60 hours) before joining this program. We accept all pre-med students with majors related to healthcare. We also accept graduate students and professionals (physicians, nurses, medical staff). Specific requirements by the hospital for shadowing apply, mainly related to vaccinations and insurance, clothing/scrubs and university/institutional affiliation.
Students receive a standard certificate of attendance for their Spanish and Medical Spanish courses and a certificate by the hospital for the number of hours done shadowing. A university transcript from a local university for the Medical Spanish course can be obtained for an extra cost of 250 USD.
Students requiring transcripts are required to take an exam at the end of their Spanish and Medical Spanish course. Consult for more details.
per 4 week program, all inclusive. Extensions possible.
Contact us for further information.
The intensive Medical Spanish and shadowing program is divided into two main blocks.
During the first two weeks you will participate in regular Spanish courses in the morning, in groups of maximum 7 students, on your specific level (200, 300, 400). The idea is for you to improve your Spanish skills, get a better grasp of the local variety of Spanish and an understanding of the local culture, history and customs. In the afternoon you will learn content more specifically linked to medical issues. During your first week, in the afternoon, you will spend time with your professor analyzing the health system in Argentina and Latin America and getting to know the cultural and formal aspects of doctor-patient interactions. During the afternoon of the second week you will be introduced to specific medical vocabulary that you will be using during your shadowing experience, such as parts of the body, illnesses, treatments and administrative terms.
During the third and fourth weeks you will spend your mornings at a clinic in Buenos Aires that is renowned for its training program. The clinic has all major specialties such as Cardiology, Dentistry, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Pediatrics etc., most of which are available most of the time for shadowing. You will be shadowing physicians during their daily routine interacting with patients, other doctors and nurses, operating on patients, etc. You will shadow, which means that you are not allowed to interact with the patients or the doctors during a consultation. You are observers. Of course you will interact with the doctor after the consultation, so that he or she can explain what you have observed. While your agenda may change due to observing surgeries or other special procedures and observations, you will usually spend the time from 8 am to noon at the hospital. You will meet local students training to become physicians, who will shadow with you. In parallel, in the afternoon, we invite you to participate in Academia Buenos Aires extracurricular program, if you find the time and energy.
Every Friday afternoon of week 3 and 4 at the hospital, you will have two hours of classes at Academia Buenos Aires with a professor going over your week at the hospital, your experiences and questions on medical vocabulary that you have encountered during your shadowing. You will also compare notes that you are asked to take during the week and which will be the base for a final report.
You will be graded on a Spanish test on your level (30%), your evaluation by the hospital on your shadowing (30%), your final report (30%) and punctuality and attendance in class (10%).
For more information consult us at info@academiabuenosaires.com.
What is included in the price? All our courses include the following:
– Teaching materials (study books)
– Level test, oral and written, before starting
– Optional exams at the end of each level and at the end of your stay
– Certificate including the amount of hours and level attained (plus grade if you passed the exam)
– Dictionary
– Two extracurricular activities per week (guided tours, museum visits, tango, asado dinners, excursions, etc.)
– Workshops, weekly or bi-weekly: Phonetics, Conversation, Narration, Audio
– Weekly tutorials after class
– Internet access through PCs at the Academia and wifi
– Hot and cold drinks
– Access to library and DVDs for further study
– Movie showings and discussions usually once a week
– Help in organizing trips around Argentina and Latin America
– 24 hour hotline in Spanish, English, French and German
