New adventure through the immensities of the Hispanic culture and language

In response to the Covid-19 crisis, the IHCAI Institute team, working hand in hand with the academic authorities of Harvard Medical School (HMS), developed the online medical Spanish course that we entitled "Give Me Five" early in 2020. Because its first editions were successful -4 in total since two sessions were held in 2020 and 2021, Two new sessions have been scheduled for September and October of 2022.

2021 is a particular year due to the departure of Dr. Manuel Guillermo Herrera. Under the "ME 518" course at Harvard Medical School, he began this initiative in 1971 to provide future doctors with better skills in caring for the Hispanic community living at a social disadvantage in the United States.

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Medical Language Program Goals at HMS web page: https://meded.hms.harvard.edu/medical-languages

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It has been more than 50 years of uninterrupted work. Because of that, we have decided to commemorate the trajectory of the course by parodying Jules Verne and his legendary work: "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".

HMS "ME 518" has become a global effort with multiple leaders working as a unified team. Currently headed from Boston by Nicte Mejia, MD, MPH, Faculty Director of the HMS ME518, and Kari Hannibal, Scholarly Engagement Program Administrator and program manager at HMS; The IHCAI Institute team in Costa Rica joins under the coordination of Yuri Baidal, Program Development Director and Alba Vargas, coordinator of the Department of Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. We also want to mention the contribution made by Giovanna Tapia, Spanish Immersion Jamaica Plain & Brookline Director. She, together with her work group of Spanish-speaking seniors from Boston, enriched the course's heritage by practicing Spanish with the senior medical students and facilitating the understanding of the Hispanic migrant culture.

¡Suerte a todos y todas en esta nueva aventura por las inmensidades de la lengua y la cultura hispana!

Dr. Mario Tristan 

Director General 

IHCAI Institute

 

Faculty Team of Give Me Five 2022

Spanish Language Department:

Prof. Alba Vargas / Spanish instructor – Grammar emphasis

Prof. Yuri Baidal / Spanish instructor – Grammar emphasis

Clinical scenarios:

Prof. Julissa Barrios / Clinical scenarios instructor – Clinical emphasis

Prof. Daniela Gutierrez / Clinical scenarios instructor – Clinical emphasis

Manuel Guillermo Herrera Aceña falleció el 19 de enero de 2022 a los 89 años, luego de una batalla privada contra el cáncer. Nació en Guatemala en 1932, en la gran depresión económica y creció a la sombra de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. A los 16 años, viajó a los EE. UU. para mejorar su inglés, luego ingresó a Harvard College y obtuvo un título en bioquímica. Posteriormente se graduó de la Escuela de Medicina de Harvard (Promoción de 1957), especializándose más tarde en la diabetes. 

Después de viajar por el mundo como médico de la Filarmónica de Nueva York bajo la dirección de Leonard Bernstein, regresó a Boston como especialista en medicina interna para el Hospital Peter Bent Brigham (ahora Brigham and Women's). Conoció al amor de su vida, Libby Gould. Estuvieron juntos 67 años, vivieron en la ciudad de Newton, Massachusetts, hasta el fallecimiento de Libby en el 2017. Ese mismo año, fue honrado por 60 años de servicio al Hospital Brigham. 

En el Brigham, Guillermo se enteró de los problemas que enfrentan las personas que no hablan inglés cuando intentan obtener atención. En 1971, en colaboración con médicos, trabajadores sociales y servicios comunitarios, fundó lo que se convertiría en el trabajo más grande de su vida: La Clínica Hispana, una iniciativa dentro del hospital que proporcionó servicios de atención primaria en español, con personal completamente bilingüe, para las necesidades insatisfechas de los pacientes latinos de Boston.

La Clínica Hispana del Brigham funcionó durante 46 años; lamentablemente, cerró cuando Guillermo resultó herido en un accidente de bicicleta en el 2017. Paralelamente a su trabajo en el Brigham and Women's Hospital en Boston, Guillermo fue miembro de la facultad de la Escuela de Salud Pública de Harvard durante mucho tiempo. Fue profesor de medicina y otros posgrados, considerando la docencia como su actividad profesional más gratificante. Estudió desnutrición en el marco de la salud pública en colaboración con el Banco Mundial, USAID, NIH, UNICEF, HIID y otras organizaciones en Sudán, Colombia, Guatemala, India, Irak, Kuwait y Malawi. Pudo constatar la influencia de la nutrición en los problemas interdisciplinarios complejos con muchos factores determinantes. En sus propias palabras: "Estoy convencido de que la salud es una función tanto de la medicina como de la sociedad. He tenido el privilegio en mi vida de realizar investigaciones sobre la salud en todo el mundo, lo que me ha dado una idea de los problemas que enfrentamos al brindar atención a los más vulnerables. A través de este trabajo, aprendí mucho sobre las culturas que se recuperan de la colonización. Mis experiencias contribuyeron a mi comprensión de la urgencia de abordar los problemas no solo de la desnutrición, sino también de la pobreza y la inequidad”.

Simultáneamente con la fundación de la Clínica Hispana, Guillermo desarrolló el curso "Medicina 518" de la Escuela de Medicina de Harvard, que capacitó a estudiantes de Harvard en español médico y brindó rotaciones clínicas internacionales en América Latina, otro intento de superar las barreras a la atención equitativa para la población latina. Estas dos iniciativas se convirtieron en un programa integrado que ha graduado médicos sensibles a las necesidades de los latinos y capaces de practicar la medicina en español, desde 1971. Más de mil estudiantes de medicina de Harvard han participado en los cursos de español médico de "inmersión total", seguido de trabajo en la Clínica Hispana y una rotación en áreas desatendidas o sistemas de salud socializados de América Latina. Entre los países que han participado de esta iniciativa se encuentran: Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile y Bolivia. Aunque Guillermo se retiró de la enseñanza de la medicina en el 2017, el programa se mantuvo activo sin interrupciones por el compromiso de Kari Hannibal, Program Manager de Harvard Medical School, que desde la Oficina de Participación Académica trabajó junto a Guillermo por mucho tiempo. Hoy día, muchos de los programas generados por Guillermo se mantienen activos bajo el liderazgo de la Dra. Nicte Mejia, MD, Directora del Departamento de Neurología y Salud Comunitaria, Diversidad e Inclusión del Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Todo el equipo de IHCAI Institute en Costa Rica tuvo oportunidad de compartir en diversas ocasiones con Guillermo, en especial nuestro Director Mario Tristán, tanto en el marco de los proyectos académicos en conjunto, como en actividades sociales, donde también Libby estuvo presente. Para todos y todas ha sido una pérdida muy dolorosa por la amistad forjada, sin embargo, los buenos recuerdos y el cariño entrañable permanecen. 

Extractos traducidos y adaptados del Obituario publicado en la Sección LEGACY de The Boston Globe:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/manuel-herrera-obituary?id=34260734 por Yuri Baidal de IHCAI Institute. El 4 de mayo del 2022.

Imágen tomada y adaptada de "Champions in Health Care: Dr. Manuel Guillermo Herrera-Acena" del Boston Business Journal del 2013: https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/print-edition/2013/08/16/champions-in-health-care-herrera-acena.html

Guillermo rodeado de estudiantes, pacientes hispanos y el equipo de instructores de IHCAI Institute en HMS, 2015, durante el cierre del curso de español médico.

Nothing stops us!

The Covid crisis did not stop us and these months of September and October 2021 IHCAI Institute will carry out its seventh and eighth edition of the online medical Spanish course called “Give Me Five”. It is part of the catalog of options of the P010 family, which includes several modalities of Spanish aimed at students and professionals in the health sciences who need it as a working tool for their patients.

Both months will be held with senior medical students from Harvard Medical School, with which IHCAI has an academic agreement spanning almost 20 years of history. Previous editions with HMS and BU have shown that it is possible to teach a second language successfully at a distance. This is confirmed by the results of the evaluations of the six previous editions.

Taking the technological leap in distance learning was a challenge for the entire language department of the Institute. It was assumed with enthusiasm and also with some haste, motivated by the Covid-19 crisis that completely paralyzed the normal flow of students in the high season at our facilities in Costa Rica. However, because some teaching materials had already been modified with the future establishment of this type of course in mind, the jump was easier.

The achievements are produced by several elements that are combined to generate a qualitative change in the level of Spanish of the students who participate. First, the excellent profile of students who are highly motivated, hard-working, and genuinely sensibility to the Latino migrant population living in the United States. Second, the method and materials of the Institute that has been improving its educational resources since 2001, when it took our first medical Spanish course. And thirdly, excellent instructors who manage to drive the process dynamically and consistently.

In the case of Harvard Medical School, the formula is reinforced by a series of activities with the involvement of academics and the Latino population that seeks to compensate for the lack of cultural immersion, which is always a key factor in learning a second language.

IHCAI Institute thanks, once again, the trust and work of the Harvard authorities who make this valuable experience possible:

Nicte Mejia, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Director of Neurology Community Health, Diversity and Inclusion, and Departmental Community Health Improvement at MGH.

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Kari Hannibal, Program Manager, Harvard Medical School. Office of Scholarly Engagement.

Faculty Team of Give Me Five 2021

Spanish Language Department:

Prof. Yuri Baidal / Program Coordinator

Prof. Alba Vargas / Spanish instructor –Grammar emphasis

Prof. Kenneth Porras Barahona / Spanish instructor –Floating classes emphasis

Clinical scenarios:

Prof. Franz Biehl / Clinical scenarios instructor – Clinical emphasis

Prof. Pía Robert / Clinical scenarios instructor – Clinical emphasis

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¡A todos y todas les deseo un mes fructífero e inolvidable!

Dr. Mario Tristan 

Director General 

IHCAI Institute 

First edition of GMF course concludes with Boston University School of Medicine

With the participation of 10 BUSM first and second-year medical students, this new initiative of the IHCAI Institute was successfully completed. Although IHCAI started its online courses since 2017 with the establishment of its virtual classroom, to train health professionals from the Central American area in evidence-based medicine, this was the first edition that is developed for the teaching of medical Spanish.

The course was called Give Me Five (GMF) and is part of the P010 family of options catalog, which includes various Spanish modalities aimed at students and professionals in the health sciences who need it as a working instrument for their patients.

Taking the technological leap in distance learning was a challenge for the Institute's entire language department. It was taken up with enthusiasm and also with some haste, motivated by the Covid-19 crisis that completely paralyzed the normal flow of students in the high season. However, since some teaching materials had already been modified with the future establishment of this type of course in mind, the jump was easier.

From the total of the 10 BUSM students, after applying the standardized tests to determine the level of Spanish of the participants, 2 groups were formed: The first with 6 students of a beginning level; the second with 4 students with fluent Spanish. Excellent results were obtained in both groups at the end of the 4-week experience. The key to success lay mainly in the commitment and excellent receptivity of all participating students.

The two lines of work were very different, the students with less Spanish strengthened the basic subjects and at the end of the course, they managed to overcome the barrier of the past tenses. The most advanced sailed from the beginning in the sea of the subjunctive and showed interest in cleaning up accumulated vices and weaknesses in their long learning of the language. In terms of the emphasis of the course on the clinical interview, the most beginners concentrated on the correct formulation of questions, on the use of the imperative for physical examination, on the explanation of medical procedures, and on informing the patient of diagnoses and treatments. The most advanced were able to sharpen their skills through the analysis of clinical cases.

At the Institute's management level, special recognition is given to Dr. Franz Biehl and Prof. Alba Vargas, who are respectively in charge of the clinical scenarios and grammar scenarios classes. Without the dedicated commitment and quality of their work, this wonderful experience would not have been possible.

If you are interested in the IHCAI Institute programs do not hesitate to contact us at info@ihcai.org

I need to learn medical Spanish for my job

IHCAI Institute offers a new alternative to learn medical Spanish online through its virtual platform. It is a high-quality and reasonable-cost alternative, with high-profile native Spanish speakers instructors and innovative materials.

IHCAI Institute has 20 years of experience teaching medical Spanish for medical students and other health professionals. We have conducted over 100 successful sessions with student groups at our headquarters in Costa Rica and trained a thousand students.

In 2017, we formally started using our virtual classroom for continuing education for Central American physicians in the field of evidence-based medicine.

Now, with all this successful experience, we launched the online medical Spanish course for all health professionals around the world.

We have chosen 5 as the magic number since they are the fingers of the hand with which we learned to write. We invite you to read the details of this distance learning option in the P10GMF program prospectus.

A successful conclusion of the January-February 2020 session of the medical Spanish course, clinical rotation & MSU Spring Break

With large participation of students from:

• Boston University School of Medicine - US
• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine - US
• The Ohio State University College of Medicine - US
• University of Central Florida College of Medicine - US
• King's College London - UK
• Arcadia University – US
• University of Otago - New Zealand
• Harvard Medical School - US

IHCAI Institute successfully managed each of its programs for international medical and PA students and achieved an enriching academic, professional and personal experience. 

On behalf of the entire IHCAI team, we want to thank everyone for their trust, effort, and enthusiasm. 

It is very gratifying to see how students can advance in a few weeks in the mastery of medical Spanish that will later be useful in their clinical work with patients, to recognize the Costa Rican health system working in EBAIS and in hospitals, as well as to know better the country's culture through their experience of integrating into a local family.

In addition, with great joy, we can report that we were able to retake the Spring Break that we traditionally held with MSU with a total participation of 19 students. 

After a long work with Jonelle K. Golding -Director of Graduate Curriculum Integration and Global Health Experiences, College of Human Medicine- we were able to renew the course program that had as its central theme: "Broadening Perspectives on Healthcare in Costa Rica". 

As part of the objectives, we worked hard with ANASOVI and managed to give a vital contribution to this patient organization in Costa Rica.

All this happened in just 9 weeks of hard work, many satisfactions and unforgettable experiences. 

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and completely paralyzed our programs with international students. All this has forced us to make an extraordinary effort to renew and adapt in record time. The entire IHCAI team works on that, but of course, we remain hopeful that we will welcome new, sensitive and hard-working students from all over the world. We take this opportunity to send a message of support to all our students from the past who are currently at the forefront of the fight against the virus. Take care all and remember fondly!

For the fifth consecutive year ...

Harvard Medical School and IHCAI Institute
Medical Spanish course
P010AS program - 2019
Held in Longwood Campus - Boston

A joint venture for the benefit of Hispanic community in the US

This is a very intensive Medical Spanish Course focusing on the interaction between the physician and patient. We have defined critical points in the geography of human communication, considering all different scenarios in the clinical context:

• Clinic history
• Clinical interview
• Physical exam
• Clinical rounds and case presentations

The first three correspond to interpersonal communication. The fourth is a group communication. Have different characteristics. We have de-composed these first three elements to generate a thematic inventory of critical issues at level of oral communication with patients, as a guide to be developed with students:

• Surface Anatomy
• Internal anatomy
• Signs and symptoms
• Vital signs
• Anthropometric measures
• Prescriptions
• Laboratory tests
• Medical procedures
• Inform consent
• Management plan, recommendations and case monitoring
• Communicating bad new
• Alternative medicine

Analysis of clinical cases and simulated patients will be educational practices as a tangent that crosses the entire matrix of the course. Common and rare medical problems and diseases are considered in our Medical Spanish learning model, such as chronic diseases and different medical aspects. But our methodology also considers the students particular interests. We want student’s participation is active and not passive.

If participants are expecting this course to give them only ‘pre-formulated questions and statements’ as ‘pocket formula’ (which are very common on the Internet now), then this course is not what you are looking for. These formulas can be only useful to ask questions to a patient but do not prepare you to understand the response of the patient, it requires hard work to learn Spanish as a second language but that is exactly what the participants will do with us.

To facilitate the learning process and to address the particular needs of students, we will divide the group into 2 levels:

• Beginner
• Intermediate

This is a division that makes an empirical and simple approach to a complex assessment levels model. It's only useful to plan the start of the course and share a general notion. Our grammar staff is highly trained in the Common European Framework of reference for Languages (CEFR): learning, teaching and assessment. This model is the result of over twenty years of research on the subject.

Reference: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Language Policy Unit, Strasbourg. Council of Europe. Modern Language Division. Cambridge University Press. Link: https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97

In this course we apply an eclectic approach that combines different conceptions of linguistic theory for teaching Spanish as second language with learning philosophy of Problem Based Learning (PBL).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem-based_learning 

We trust that both our planning and our tools are consistent with this educational model. Management course by our instructors aims to make this experience dynamic, intense and participative. We also hope that this course will produce significant momentum in your communications skills with Hispanic population living in US.
It is important to understand that human communication transcends oral communication. For this reason, this course also offers a series of activities aimed to approach the student to the Latino reality in the United States enriching the cultural approach.

Please explore and take advantage of this Blog. There are tools that can facilitate your learning process. We agree that these are essential activities.

HMS takes up the challenge of developing a Spanish course in an Anglophone context. The aspect of cultural immersion, which is normally a great facilitator, will be absent except for the action of instructors and activities with the Latin group. Is up to you to create a bubble and live, for a period of four weeks, in the world of Spanish. We trust and rely on your commitment and effort. Good luck!

Yuri Baidal
Program Development Director
IHCAI Institute
San José, Costa Rica. August 2019.

Materials
In this digital age, the disappearance of paper in the teaching process is closer each time. Good for the trees! We are in the process of adapting our grammar Master Manual (in two versions, for beginners and intermediate students) to this reality. Although there is still controversy over not using the hand in writing as a critical factor in learning a second language, we believe it is necessary to adapt or disappear. For this reason, our manuals have been deconstructed into functional chapters under the problem-solving modality, each representing a thematic scenario. We are working closely with HMS to hang all this material in a virtual classroom and offer the student a dynamic and functional online system.

Faculty Team

Spanish Language Department:
Prof. Yuri Baidal / Program Coordinator
Prof. Alba Vargas ML. / Spanish instructor –Grammar emphasis

Clinical scenarios:
Dr. Mario Tristan / IHCAI Institute – Director General
Dr. Roberto Fu / Clinical scenarios instructor – Clinical emphasis
Dra. Lizbeth Rondon / Clinical scenarios instructor – Clinical emphasis


Expression of gratitude

For many years, we have strengthened the relationship between HMS and IHCAI through the direction of Manuel Guillermo Herrera Acena MD, a long time professor in the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, and that for many decades he directed the Hispanic Clinic at Brigham and Women's Hospital. This is a year of transition due to the retirement of Dr. Herrera, who will remain an advisor of the medical Spanish course and the Latin American programs. The new director is Nicte Mejia, MD, MPH and she is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. At MGH, who is the Director of MGH Neurology Community Health, Diversity and Inclusion, and Director of MGH Departmental Community Health Improvement.

We look forward to this new stage with HMS and we reiterate our deep gratitude, affection and respect towards Dr. Herrera and his pioneering work by changing the face of health for the poor migrant population of Latin America that lives in the US.

Who is Dr. Manuel Guillermo Herrera Acena of HMS?
HEALTH AND EQUITY IN THE AMERICAS (FALL 2000)
Changing the Face of Health Care for Latinos/as
By Susie Seefelt Lesieutre
Link: https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/book/dr-manuel-guillermo-herrera-acena