UCCI Course Description

Prepárate a Servir: Advanced Spanish for Patient Care

Overview Course Content Course Materials
Length of Course
Full Year (2 semesters; 3 trimesters; 4 quarters)
Subject Area - Discipline
Language other than English (E) - LOTE Level 3
UC Honors Designation
Honors
CTE Sector
Health Science and Medical Technology
CTE Pathway
Patient Care
Grade Level(s)
10 - 12
Prerequisites
N/A

Overview

Prepárate a Servir: Advanced Spanish for Patient Care is a level three LOTE (E) course developed using the new CTE content standards and aligns with the Patient Care pathway standards within the Health, Science, Medical Technology CTE sector. Using Spanish as the medium of instruction and learning, students demonstrate an understanding of the issues and considerations that apply to this industry sector, and undertake practical research that enables them to map their interests and skills in the healthcare/patient care career sector. Beginning with an introduction to healthcare systems, foundational anatomy and key terminology in the field, the course builds applied knowledge progressively, moving through units on communication and cultural sensitivity in the workplace into issues of health and safety and legal/ethical considerations. The course culminates with career exploration and healthy living units, enabling students to put their knowledge into practice with community and professional partners. Students employ situationally and level-appropriate Spanish as the means of communication as they study the concepts and principles of the healthcare industry.

Within the context of a third year college preparatory high school Spanish class, students explore how their interests and talents fit into the Patient Care Pathway. Students learn to meet the physical needs of patients efficiently and effectively all the while taking into consideration the cultural components related to patient care that will put the patient at ease and make a more complete diagnosis possible. Students also come to understand, develop and implement workplace norms that meet safety, comportment and legal standards as they relate to the medical professions. Additionally, students explore how they might best fit into the realm of medical professions as they select a particular medical profession to explore and in which to seek employment. As a capstone activity, students create a community health project which will demonstrate that they are indeed able to provide excellent patient care in accordance with CTE competency guidelines for patient care while using situationally appropriate, culturally sensitive and grammatically correct Spanish as the means of oral and written communication.

Course Content

Unit 1 : Meeting the Patient

Unit 1 Description

In this unit, students will begin to acquire the Spanish vocabulary, grammar and charting skills they will need to provide an excellent level of health care services to the community. Students will also start to acquire and apply the CTE competencies and target language speaking proficiencies needed to complete an intake information form or forms, obtain vital signs, ascertain the reason health care is being sought, and chart such information appropriately in the target language. Students will also explore the structure of the various health care systems in the United States as a first step in preparing themselves to be advocates for patients as they find it necessary to seek additional medical services and make healthier lifestyle changes. This unit also sets up activities that will be repeated throughout the course such as the acquisition of medical terminology and charting abbreviation, an understanding of basic anatomy and physiology and the creation and use of a portfolio to document the level to which students have demonstrated proficiency in acquiring both the CTE competencies needed to provide excellent patient care while showcasing the linguistic ability to do so in Spanish. In this unit students will use the district-adopted textbook for a third year college preparatory Spanish class to review such grammar concepts and topic related vocabulary as the present tense, ser, estar, basic interrogatives, date formats, months, days of the week, body parts, the verb doler and both 12 hour and the 24 hour clock as they complete the personal data, medical history and reason for visit sections of an intake form. Students may also complete the appropriate reading, writing, speaking and listening activities found in a medical Spanish textbook such as the first four chapters in McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish:Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (complete with CDs). As students move on to unit 2, they will enhance their initial competencies as they learn to consider the cultural, linguistic, developmental, and physical needs of patients that also impact patient care.

A. In preparation for contextualized lectures (lectures that use context clues such as visuals, the intentional use of cognates, examples that relate directly to student experiences, etc.) and presentations given in Spanish regarding effective health care delivery, students will read scaffolded sections of authentic or translated literature related to health care. Students will use pre-reading and reading strategies such as the completion of graphic organizers, elaboration, contextualization, reciprocal teaching and note-taking strategies (such as Cornell notes) to acquire vocabulary in Spanish. Throughout the course, students will use these and similar strategies to understand information available in print and electronic media such as those found in magazine articles, on websites or in textbooks designed to teach medical Spanish such as McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish: Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (Second edition) Students will submit completed graphic organizers and classroom notes to the instructor for evaluation.

B. Using the target language, students will create a KWL (what they believe they Know, what they Wonder about [and eventually what they have Learned] about the health care options- clinic, urgent care, doctor’s office, emergency room, etc.) available in the United States and how patients access these. In this activity, students explore how such factors as socioeconomic status, insurance coverage, employment level, and the ability to communicate with a given provider affect the availability of health care. Resources may include pamphlets written in the target language gathered from healthcare insurance companies, community flyers written in the target language that inform the community about local health care events, information gathered from school district resource providers or websites such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of North America (in Spanish)

Having completed the first two columns of the KWL chart, students write a brief (100 word) anecdote in Spanish that tells about a health care experience they have either experienced or heard about that was influenced by at least one of these factors. As students complete this assignment, they review the preterite and imperfect tenses as they tell what happened. Students use such medically-appropriate vocabulary as "me duele" and body parts. Students submit this assignment to the instructor for evaluation, which will include a proficiency-based rubric for the demonstration of Spanish language competency as well as a rubric that reflects how well the students have understood what factors influence the choices one has when seeking medical attention.

C. Students choose an allied health care worker and health care setting, such as a clinic or emergency room. They create a skit in Spanish that allows students to role-play being both patient and health care provider as they complete the initial interview process (name, age, birthdate, insurance documentation, HIPAA documentation, etc.) and complete the patient intake interview in the patient room as they ascertain vital signs, patient history and reason for the visit. While these role-plays take place, students review the grammar (present tense, ser, estar, basic interrogatives, date formats, etc.) and vocabulary (months, days of the week, both 12 hour and the 24 hour clock , etc.) as they complete the personal data, medical history and reason for visit sections of an intake form. Through lectures, vocabulary study and hands-on practice / practical demonstration, students meet the CTE competencies and professional standards needed to perform the role of allied health care worker proficiently. These role-plays take place in front of the class.

Students not involved in the current role play may evaluate the skit using a teacher-developed rubric that evaluates both CTE and world language proficiency levels. When possible, an outside Spanish-speaking representative from the healthcare industry assesses student learning and provides each student with feedback on his/her performance as an allied health care worker or medical professional. Students also write a 75 to 100 word reflective essay in Spanish highlighting personal areas of strength and areas of improvement for both types of competencies. These reflective pieces take into account feedback from peers as well as from the instructor. These essays allow the instructor to introduce the conditional tense as used in conjunction with the subjunctive.

Optional:

These presentations may be videotaped in order to archive the presentation as one part of a portfolio that document increasing competency in the demonstration of required CTE healthcare provider skills and enhanced proficiency in the acquisition and use of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in the target language.

D. Students initiate their study of proper charting techniques by beginning to acquire both charting abbreviations and medically-based word roots, prefixes and suffixes. Students acquire this knowledge through direct instruction in the target language, guided practice and independent practice in role-played situations. Students will submit their charting notes for evaluation by the instructor.The instructor will evaluate the charting notes using a rubric that assesses both the levels of CTE and target language proficiency levels. Students may be asked to acquire at least thirty root/word parts or thirty charting abbreviations per month.

E. Students will begin to acquire the first 20 of approximately 200 anatomy and physiology terms needed to work competently in the healthcare field as it relates to patient care. Students may achieve this goal by drawing, creating cartoons, developing mnemonic devices, writing poems and/or songs or other mnemonic activities such as creation of flashcards that include pictures that are self-drawn or obtained from other sources. Digital flashcards might be an option. These activities are conducted in the target language. Students perform their literary or musical pieces or present their artwork or other project to the class. The instructor evaluates these pieces using a rubric that assesses both the levels of CTE and target language proficiency levels. Students may also help to determine the effectiveness of the various presentations by voting on the presentation that they are most likely to use to help them remember the selected vocabulary.

Proposed Portfolio Submissions:

Copies of completed rubrics created for this unit | Copies of recorded / digitized presentations and / or role plays | Copies of essays, charting notes, etc. | Copies of vocabulary acquisition activities such as anatomy and physiology drawings, songs, mnemonic devices etc.

Unit 2 : Communication in Health Care Delivery

With their newly acquired knowledge of the health care systems and terminology of anatomy and physiology in Spanish, students will further the process of developing communication between the patient and physician and all the allied health professionals they will encounter. Students learn appropriate planned language for conversation and written documents. They express opinions and produce and present written and oral products. Students learn and implement how to work with patients with vocabulary that uses cultural sensitivity and appropriate linguistic registers in Spanish. Students distinguish between working with children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, all of whom dictate how the students communicate in Spanish. Culturally competent health care and communicative-based activities will support the acquisition of vocabulary-rich activities and assist in the introduction of new topics in Spanish. Students also study the nonverbal cues (body language) which can express a patient’s comfort level, as well as divulge information a patient may not be willing to discuss verbally. Developing the four language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing, (specifically subjunctive, expressing doubt, fear, hopes) pertaining to interactions between individuals, their families and the health care delivery system, students will examine issues of cultural diversity. Furthermore, students will demonstrate knowledge of use of a 24 hour clock for charting and use of metric calculations to understand notations in the medical chart. In this unit students will use the district-adopted textbook to acquire the ability to use the subjunctive as it relates to doubt as they simultaneously enhance their ability to use reflexive verbs, comparative, equality and superlative grammatical structures,and vocabulary related to such topics as food, diet, travel,nationalities,and healthcare practitioners and practices. Students may also complete the appropriate reading, writing, speaking and listening activities found in a medical Spanish textbook such as chapters 5, 6, 8 and 15 in McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish:Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (complete with CDs). Having learned the importance of creating and maintaining a welcoming environment for the patients by developing an understanding of the cultural components that aid in successful diagnosis and treatment, students then transition to creating workplace cultures that provide for the physical safety of both patient and employee.

A. Students read and analyze at least two authentic texts in Spanish which delve into recognizing aspects of cultural diversity, such as the variety of cultural perceptions of pain, death, health care providers (including curanderos - healer) and how to talk honestly about serious illness. These issues become important in understanding how patients relate to support personnel (for example, nurses, technicians or occupational therapists) in addition to physicians, including how culture influences how patients relate to these professionals. Grammar practice, particularly in the area of subjunctive use, doubt, reflexive verbs are facilitated within a healthcare context. In their analysis, students demonstrate appropriate CTE concepts in their knowledge of the healthcare delivery system, possible lack of equity in availability and difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Students then create a Venn diagram which illustrates the similarities, differences and overlapping observations of the different cultural perceptions of pain and death. In addition they will write a 400 word expository essay in Spanish. which explains the significance of the information delineated in the Venn diagram to patient care. Students demonstrate proficiency in the use of the grammar concepts mentioned above as well as comprehension of cultural factors that may affect patient care. Instructors gauge proficiency using a rubric for these assessments.

B. The next assignment centers on watching several authentic Spanish language resources, such as an appropriate episode of the telenovela “Soy tu Dueña”. Students will observe an individual’s experience with an illness and a negative experience with the healthcare system. The students will analyze and critique both the positive and negative patient experience which may include intimidation, lack of resources or understanding explanation, etc that an individual might encounter, showcasing the importance of accountability and responsibility in fulfilling personal, community, and workplace roles. Students analyze the need to adapt to changing and varied roles and responsibilities; and, they demonstrate the qualities and behaviors that constitute a positive and professional demeanor. To compare and contrast the cultural differences observed in the two workplace encounters, students compose an essay of at least 400 words in the target language, demonstrating proficiency in the use of the grammar concepts mentioned above as well as comprehension of cultural factors that may affect patient care. Instructors gauge proficiency using a rubric for these assessments.

C. Students create a dialogue in Spanish regarding a hypothetical upcoming visit to a medical provider or healthcare work. Students plan and write the hypothetical situation in Spanish, after which the teacher approves it for oral presentation. The dialogue is intended to use their knowledge of cultural norms, grammatical concepts such as Spanish subjunctive, expressing fear, doubt, uncertainty, to convey their feelings. This dialogue will include culturally relevant factors pertaining to place of birth, travel experiences, diet, and environmental factors. Students determine appropriate responses to situations with complications. All communication for this activity is in Spanish. Both the oral presentation and the written essay will be evaluated using rubrics that assess each student’s Spanish language proficiency as well as his/her comprehension of the cultural factors that may influence patient care.

D. Students continue their medical vocabulary acquisition activities, achieving this learning outcome by drawing, creating cartoons, developing mnemonic devices, writing poems and / or songs or other mnemonic activities such as creation of flash cards that include pictures that are self-drawn or obtained from other sources, etc. Digital flashcards might be an option here. These activities are conducted in the target language. Students perform their literary or musical pieces or present their artwork to the class. The instructor evaluates these pieces using a rubric that assesses both the levels of CTE and target language proficiency levels. Students may also help to determine the efficacy of the various presentations by voting on the presentation that they are most likely to use to help them remember the selected vocabulary.

Proposed Portfolio Submissions:

Copies of completed rubrics created for this unit | Copies of recorded / digitized presentations and / or role plays | Copies of essays, charting notes, etc. | Copies of vocabulary acquisition activities such as anatomy and physiology drawings, songs, mnemonic devices etc.

Unit 3 : Health and Safety

Having learned in the previous unit that an appreciation for the importance of a workplace culture that welcomes the Spanish-speaking community and its cultures is critical if one desires to provide excellent healthcare, students now turn their attention to ensuring a culture of physical safety in the workplace for both the healthcare professional and the patient. They also acquire the ability to inspect, detect, and rectify unsafe conditions within the workplace. Additionally, they analyze the need for sterile and sanitary environments and instruments and demonstrate procedures that provide for aseptic conditions and instruments. They demonstrate the ability to use Spanish to discuss potential hazards with their colleagues and patients. In this unit students utilize proper body mechanics, explaining the use of medical equipment such as wheelchair, canes, walkers and etc. to patients in Spanish using appropriate language registers, vocabulary and grammar. They also use these skills to explain biomechanics to family members of patients when these relatives become home caregivers.

Students demonstrate the ability to provide for the physical safety of their patients and their families as the students learn to explain how to take, store, and seek out more information about prescribed medications. Students will continue to use the district-adopted textbook for a third year college preparatory Spanish class to strengthen their ability to use commands and subjunctive expressions related to necessity as they demonstrate and explain how to use medical equipment, assistive devices and protective gear and procedures. Students may also complete the appropriate reading, writing, speaking and listening activities found in a medical Spanish textbook such as appropriate sections of chapters 7, 9 and 10 in McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish:Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (complete with CDs). Having acquired the ability to detect unsafe environments and practices and prevent both, students continue their studies by learning how to detect, prevent and, if necessary, report unethical and illegal practices within the industry even as they learn to comport themselves professionally.

A. All students will then complete a KWL chart in Spanish that indicates what they think they know about how to create, when to create and why it is necessary to create sterile conditions. In the “w” column they will write questions that indicate what they wonder about in regards to this topic. Students will then take (Cornell) notes in Spanish on the creation of an aseptic environment (including OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standards) as the teacher lectures on the topic in Spanish. Following the lecture, students will correct erroneous statements found on each student’s KWL chart, write in answers under the “wonder” column and summarize what they have learned under the “learned” column. These charts will then be submitted to the instructor for evaluation using a rubric that evaluates each student’s level of competence in regard to creating an aseptic environment. The rubric will also assess Spanish language proficiency as the rewritten charts will ask students to turn the answers to their questions into formal "usted" commands, their “wonder” statements into impersonal subjunctive statements that employ introductory phrases such as “Es preciso que” or “Es necesario que," etc. The “learned” column will provide the students the opportunity to use the preterit and the present perfect tenses (pretérito perfecto) as they state what they learned/have learned.

B. Given a series of pictures of a non-sterile environment, students will work in small groups to list in full sentences in written Spanish the non-sterile conditions that are present. The picture series may include non-sterile conditions on an object, in a place or on a body. As a class, students then work together to ensure that all non-sterile conditions have been found. Each group will add non-sterile conditions it had not noticed to its list using a different color pen or ink. These revised lists will be used to discuss why and when areas and instruments may need to be sterile, sanitary and disinfected. Students conduct this discussion in Spanish to allow students to augment their ability to use vocabulary related to creating and maintaining safe work environments This activity also provides students students the opportunity to review subjunctive triggers related to necessity. Student proficiency in the target language will be assessed informally based on such factors as a demonstrated willingness to participate and fluency in the target language. As a culminating activity for this experience, each student will be given a written description or scenario or a picture of a setting that shows non-sterile conditions. Students note the non-sterile conditions as well as the appropriate measures that should be taken. Students write these essays in the target language and are assessed using a rubric that assesses both Spanish language proficiency as well as the applicable CTE competencies related to patient care.

C. Students will demonstrate the use of appropriate commands in Spanish as they simultaneously demonstrate both how to properly wash their hands and how to properly don personal protective equipment (PPE’s) such as gowns, gloves, masks and shoe covers, etc. These demonstrations may be videotaped and digitized to document both Spanish language proficiency and CTE competency in this area of infection control and prevention. Each demonstration will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses both language proficiency and CTE competency levels.

D. Students will read about required health care safety procedures and create graphic organizers in Spanish as a means of acquiring and retaining the vocabulary and information. Students then create questionnaires as the basis of interviews of industry safety personnel. Students will interview safety personnel who work in medical settings such as doctors’ offices, clinics, urgent care facilities, hospitals, surgery centers, dialysis centers, oncology centers and outpatient surgery facilities to find out what what environmental safety standards are in place, what disaster plans are in place and how electrical, fire, mechanical and chemical safety hazards are prevented. Students will also ascertain where MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) are stored, accessed and utilized in an emergency. Whenever possible, these interviews will be conducted in Spanish. Interviews may be done via the internet, in person, on the phone or via questionnaire.

At the conclusion of the interview process, students will write a reflective essay of at least 200 words that delineates where and how the place of business for which the person who was interviewed works does not meet, meets or exceeds the industry standard. As part of the essay, students will be expected to summarize their findings and synthesize a plan of action to help the place of business correct any deficiencies.( here students should not “help the place of business with deficiencies).These essays will be written in Spanish and be presented in the target language to the class. At the request of the business, a copy of the student’s findings may be sent to the site. These activities will provide students the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in the recognition of introductory clauses that do or don’t trigger the use of the unctive in Spanish. The questionnaires and essays will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses both the CTE competencies related to healthcare and safety as well as the degree to which the student is able to express himself / herself proficiently in written and spoken Spanish.

E. Having viewed Spanish language videos related to the proper use of biomechanics, students will narrate and participate in Spanish language role plays on the proper use of these principles as they perform such tasks as assisting patients with walking, instructing the proper use of assistive devices such as canes and crutches, etc. These role plays may be videotaped and digitized to document both CTE competency in this skill area as well as Spanish language competency in the use of commands, subjunctive and appropriate vocabulary. Whenever possible, these role plays may be observed and commented upon by an industry professional. Students who are not involved in the roleplay will use a teacher-created rubric to evaluate the role play. These rubrics will assesses both the CTE competencies related to healthcare and the proper use of biomechanics as well as the degree to which the students are able to express themselves proficiently in written and spoken Spanish.

F. Students will use formal usted commands to create workplace related signs that remind everyone of safety procedures required in the workplace. These signs will be posted around the classroom. These signs will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses both the CTE competencies regarding safety as well as the student’s proficiency in using correctly formulated written Spanish.

G. Students will continue their medical vocabulary acquisition activities.Students may achieve this goal by drawing, creating cartoons, developing mnemonic devices, writing poems and / or songs or other mnemonic activities such as creation of flashcards that include pictures that are self-drawn or obtained from other sources.

Digital flashcards might be an option. These activities will be conducted in the target language. Students will perform their literary or musical pieces or present their artwork to the class. The instructor will evaluate these pieces using a rubric that assesses both the levels of CTE and target language proficiency levels. Students may also help to determine the effectiveness of the various presentations by voting on the presentation that they are most likely to use to help them remember the selected vocabulary.

Proposed Portfolio Submissions:

Copies of completed rubrics created for this unit | Copies of recorded / digitized presentations and / or role plays | Copies of essays, charting notes, etc. | Copies of vocabulary acquisition activities such as anatomy and physiology drawings, songs, mnemonic devices etc.

Unit 4 : Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

Having learned the importance of creating and maintaining a physically and culturally safe workplace, students then analyze how safe and legal facilities provide appropriate care for patients. In the Legal and Ethical Responsibilities unit, students analyze the applicable federal and state legal regulations, ethical standards and confidentiality requirements that will ensure the safety and well-being of the employer, the patients and themselves. Part of analyzing ethical responsibilities will include analysis of patient advocacy, such as mandating hospitals to provide medical interpreters for patients who remain unaware of their ailments. Students practice proper and ethical methods of medical interpretation in Spanish. As a culminating activity for the unit, students will sign a Spanish language translation of an authentic copy of a patient’s bill of rights whereby each student will commit himself / herself to the standard of professional conduct.

Students will continue use the district-adopted textbook for a third year college preparatory Spanish class to improve their ability to use impersonal subjunctive expressions, and expressions of obligation to explain professional standards of conduct. They will also enhance their ability to use the proper register of commands when making appropriate workplace signage related to ethical behavior. Students may also complete the appropriate reading, writing, speaking and listening activities found in a medical Spanish textbook such as appropriate sections of chapters 11 and 12 in McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish:Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (complete with CDs). Having learned to conduct themselves as healthcare professionals, in the next unit students will focus on determining the particular health care role they might like to have as they provide excellent healthcare services to their patients.

A. This first multifaceted assignment addresses writing, oral proficiency as well as important CTE competencies. In addition to using the chapter from the district textbook that deals with legalities and ethics, as well HIPAA Rights in Spanish, students will research authentic translated examples of the rights of patients being treated in the United States. Each student will then write a comparative essay in the target language that compares and contrasts what he / she thought patients’ rights involved vs what the federally and locally mandated rights actually were. The essay will compare and contrast 1) the themes covered in a bill of patients’ rights 2) the laws governing behavior in each area of concern and 3) the procedures mandated for reporting violations of these laws. The essay will be at least 400-500 words. These essays afford the students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use comparative language, the imperfect tense and impersonal subjunctive triggers related to necessity proficiently in Spanish.

These essays will be graded using a rubric that evaluates both the CTE competencies regarding legal and ethical issues as well as the student’s proficiency in using correctly formulated written Spanish.

B. Students will write and perform two realistic workplace dialogues that examine the correct and / or incorrect methods of handling confidentiality with patients or other health care worker (nurse, doctor, technician, etc.). In order to apply rules and regulations regarding sharing of confidential information as determined by HSMT sector laws and practices (such as HIPAA), They will use appropriate grammatical conventions such as impersonal expressions that trigger the use of the subjunctive, the use of formal or informal commands in accord with the language register of the skit, the use of expression of obligation such as "tener que" and "deber de," the use of the true future tense to indicate what students are about to do to produce a role play.

Whenever feasible, this presentation will include the use of industry-standard software and programs, such as PowerPoint, iMovie, Animoto, Prezi, etc. Through this activity, students demonstrate their comprehension of how confidential matters are to be handled in the workplace. Role plays may be evaluated by industry representatives as well as by peers and the instructor. Role plays will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses both the CTE competencies regarding legal and ethical issues as well as the student’s proficiency in using correctly formulated written and spoken Spanish.

C. Students will also produce Spanish language role plays based on legal and ethical issues related to the workplace that do not relate to confidentiality. Such role plays may deal with sexual harassment, abuse of authority, financial misconduct, child abuse, and substance abuse, and the lack of mandated interpreters in the workplace. Each role play will review the proper procedures for reporting violations. They will use appropriate grammatical conventions such as impersonal expressions that trigger the use of the subjunctive, the use of the subjunctive to counsel a colleague to do or not do something, the use of formal or informal commands in accord with the language register of the skit, the use of expression of obligation such as "tener que" and "deber de," the use of the present perfect to about the rumors one has heard, to produce a role play. Whenever feasible, this presentation will include the use of technology (powerpoint, video, etc.). Role plays may be evaluated by industry representatives as well as by peers and the instructor. Role plays will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses both the CTE competencies regarding legal and ethical issues as well as the student’s proficiency in using correctly formulated written Spanish.

D. Students will use formal “usted” commands to create workplace related signs that remind everyone of the standards of conduct required in the workplace. These signs will be posted around the classroom. These signs will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses both the CTE competencies regarding legal and ethical issues as well as the student’s proficiency in using correctly formulated written Spanish.

E. Students will continue their medical vocabulary acquisition activities.Students may achieve this goal by drawing, creating cartoons, developing mnemonic devices, writing poems and / or songs or other mnemonic activities such as creation of flash cards that include pictures that are self-drawn or obtained from other sources. Digital flashcards might be an option here. These activities will be conducted in the target language. Students will perform their literary or musical pieces or present their artwork to the class. The instructor will evaluate these pieces using a rubric that assesses both the levels of CTE and target language proficiency levels. Students may also help to determine the effectiveness of the various presentations by voting on the presentation that they are most likely to use to help them remember the selected vocabulary.

Proposed Portfolio Submissions:

Copies of completed rubrics created for this unit | Copies of recorded / digitized presentations and / or role plays | Copies of essays, charting notes, etc. | Copies of vocabulary acquisition activities such as anatomy and physiology drawings, songs, mnemonic devices etc.

Unit 5 : Career Exploration

Having learned about the rights and responsibilities of healthcare professionals, students then explore and analyze the role they wish to play in providing healthcare services. Using the target language, students synthesize multiple sources of information to investigate a potential career in the healthcare field. Over the course of the unit, students will explore the necessary qualifications and aptitudes for a chosen career in healthcare. Students also integrate forecasted need for particular types of healthcare professionals, trends in hiring practices and employment, the state of the economy, and their own economic needs into their planning activities. They investigate educational requirements as well as registration and licensure requirements in such health care sectors as Medical Specialties, Mental and Social Services, Mortuary, Nutrition and Dietary Services, Veterinary, Vision Services, Diagnostic Services, Health Informatics, and Support Services. As part of their research, students interview a bilingual health care professional in their chosen profession to determine how the benefits of being bilingual affect the services they are able to provide, the likelihood that they will be hired, and their earning potential once they are hired.

Students continue to use the district-adopted textbook for a third year college preparatory Spanish class to improve their ability to use the perfect tenses, the true future tense, the conditional tense and if clauses that trigger the use of the subjunctive as they describe their accomplishments and their dreams as they interview before mock hiring panels. Students will also use the writing strategies found in the district adopted textbook to help them write cover letters and résumés. Students may also complete the appropriate reading, writing, speaking and listening activities found in a medical Spanish textbook such as appropriate sections of chapters 13 and 14 in McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish:Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (complete with CDs). Having acquired the skills needed to enter the healthcare industry as a well-trained professional in a particular health care field, students demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and willingness to serve to a wider audience as they plan and present a community health project.

A. Using a textbook such as an Allied Health Textbook that lists healthcare related occupations or related resources, students will select a health care role that they wish to investigate. They will complete a Spanish language matrix in which they note information including: education required, job outlook, and average yearly earnings. The matrix will be completed in Spanish. The completed matrix will be submitted to the instructor for evaluation based on a rubric that assesses the accuracy of the information presented as well as the level of Spanish language competency demonstrated on the completed form.

B. Students will conduct a literature review in both Spanish and English to assess the the degree to which being biliterate will increase both their employability and their earnings potential. Students will interview a biliterate English-Spanish person employed in their chosen field to gain first hand knowledge of the value of speaking more than one language. These interviews may be conducted face-to-face, via telephone or through the use of the internet. Students will then write a 300 word expository essay that details their findings and lays out a plan for continued study of the target language beyond the current course they are taking so that they may acquire a more thorough knowledge of the Spanish language vocabulary they may need to fulfil their chosen role in the healthcare field. Students will write in Spanish employing the true future tense, the conditional tense and if clauses that trigger the use of the subjunctive These essays will be assessed using a rubric that assesses the accuracy of the data present, the proper use of writing conventions in Spanish and the proficient use of Spanish grammar.

C. Students will compile a notebook in which they will include written documents in Spanish that outline a) the characteristics of a healthcare professional, b) their own resumé c) a cover letter or letter of introduction as part of a job application or request for internship d) a letter of recommendation written by a teacher or community member e) a copy of the questions they used when they conducted the interview of a biliterate healthcare professional f) a copy of the expository essay written following this interview g) their notes on career research which they used to find out more about a specific career (including work cited in MLA format) h) a powerpoint presentation OR display board on aspects of their chosen career i) a business card that students designed themselves and j) a completed (authentic) application for a job, internship or volunteer opportunity. Each element of the career notebook will be assessed using rubrics that assess proficiency in written Spanish when appropriate, content accuracy, fluency where appropriate, situationally appropriate behavior where appropriate, and fulfillment of all notebook requirements.

D. Students will participate as members of hiring panels. Before the interviews begin, they will create position specific rubrics for the job for which they are serving as board members.These completed rubrics will be submitted the instructor for review before being used to assess candidates to ensure compliance with legal regulations, grammatical accuracy and completeness. All communications and written materials pertaining to the creation and use of the rubrics will be in Spanish. Interviews will be conducted in Spanish. These student-created rubrics will themselves be assessed using a rubric based on the factors mentioned above.

E. Students will participate in mock hiring panels as potential candidates for the job of their choice based on the student-created rubrics. They will be expected to dress appropriately for this occasion and bring their completed job notebook. Interviews will be assessed using a rubric that assesses each student’s performance as an interviewer/interviewee based on the rubrics created above. At the discretion of the instructor, students not involved in the interview panel presentation may complete rubrics for the interview session currently being presented to the class. Whenever possible personnel from human resources or those involved in the actual hiring of employees will be invited to observe and comment on the performance of the interviewers and the interviewees.

F. Following the interviews, students will write a two part (150 words per part) reflective essay detailing what they learned from being interviewed as well as from receiving the completed rubrics. They will also detail what they might do differently and / or what skills they might acquire or strengthen before participating in an actual interview.

The second reflective essay will detail what the student learned from the experience of being on a hiring panel, how this might affect his/her preparation for an actual interview and how he/she might change the job descriptions or interview questions that his/her team had written previously. These essays might make use of subjunctive triggers, perfect tenses and the conditional tense. These written activities will be evaluated on a rubric that assesses both readiness to be hired as well as proficiency in the written and spoken Spanish needed to obtain a job.

G. Students will continue their medical vocabulary acquisition activities.Students may achieve this goal by drawing, creating cartoons, developing mnemonic devices, writing poems and / or songs or other mnemonic activities such as creation of flashcards that include pictures that are self-drawn or obtained from other sources. Digital flashcards might be an option here. These activities will be conducted in the target language. Students will perform their literary or musical pieces or present their artwork to the class. The instructor will evaluate these pieces using a rubric that assesses both the levels of CTE and target language proficiency levels. Students may also help to determine the effectiveness of the various presentations by voting on the presentation that they are most likely to use to help them remember the selected vocabulary.

Unit 6 : Community Lifestyle and Healthy Living

In this final unit of the course, students demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired as they commit themselves to the development and presentation of a community health care project. Among many other topics and presentation styles, students may present workshops covering injury prevention, proper lifting, bending and transferring techniques, proper nutrition, ways health care systems may be accessed as well as on a variety of wellness strategies. In preparation for these types of presentations, students will complete part of a health occupations curriculum such as the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) curriculum, requiring that they demonstrate the leadership skills needed to orchestrate and execute this project while conducting themselves in accordance with accepted guidelines for medical professionals.

Students will use the target language and the district-adopted textbook for a third year college preparatory Spanish class as well as a medical Spanish textbook such as McGraw-Hill’s Complete Medical Spanish:Practical Medical Spanish for Quick and Confident Communication (complete with CDs) as a general resource as they make these preparations and present their final products.

A. To prepare for the community health project students will complete ia classroom-based assignment from a curriculum such as the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) curriculum. This assignment will be completed in Spanish and will consist of a self-assessment of such lifestyle indicators as weight and height and a 5 week research and journaling assignment focused on a lifestyle change. Students will determine a personal healthy lifestyle goal which they will track for five weeks (such as changes to diet), Through the knowledge gained by completing this activity, students will not only improve their own lives, but they will also prepare themselves to present workshops for the upcoming community health project because the students will have researched why these changes are needed. They will have also become familiar with strategies that might help them and others in their situation make positive lifestyle changes and maintain this new lifestyle These experiences may form the basis for creating a presentation on a needed lifestyle change for the upcoming community health project.

Students will submit the self-assessment and, at the discretion of the instructor excerpts of the journal to the instructor for evaluation. The self assessment and any journals excerpts required to be submitted by the instructor will be assessed based on how much of each assignment was completed, on the degree to which the student understands the need for and implications of choosing to make or not make this change as well as on the proficient use of written Spanish.

B. At the end of the five weeks, students will reflect on the challenges and triumphs they experienced during the last five weeks by writing a 300 word reflective essay in Spanish about the experience. This will allow the student additional practice with the imperfect and the preterite tenses and provide them the opportunity to practice the past perfect tense and subjunctive / non subjunctive triggers (Creo que / Pienso que, etc.). This essay will be evaluated using a rubric that assesses proficiency in written Spanish.

C. Using the target language, students will develop health and wellness posters on injury and illness prevention. As students create these posters, they may review the formation of commands and the use of impersonal “se”. Students will present posters aloud with classmates in the target language. This activity provides students with another opportunity to synthesize their content knowledge and language competencies. The link below exhibits examples of student work at the California State Leadership Conference, where students from the state convene to compete. The posters will be assessed using a rubric that assesses the student’s ability to apply preventive strategies to daily life as well as the student’s ability to write in Spanish proficiently. Similarly, A rubric that assesses the student’s ability to use spoken Spanish appropriately will be used to assess the oral presentation.

 Flickr gallery: examples of student work at the California State Leadership conference

D. To further prepare for the health project students will work in small groups to prepare teaching projects of interest to the community based on health issues in the community as evidence by stories found in the media, data gathered by talking to healthcare professionals or by listening to personal anecdotes. Some potential topics may include seatbelt usage, helmet use, diet changes, disease process and prevention, etc). Students plan, research and prepare to present their projects in Spanish using target language resources to the fullest extent possible. This project will allow students to demonstrate effective leadership skills, make efficient use of group dynamics,exercise good team and individual decision making, and gain experience with workforce diversity and conflict resolution as practiced in the CAL-HOSA career technical organization website or any healthcare organization. 

These projects will be evaluated based on a rubric that assess leadership, the ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively, the ability to research, develop and teach a presentation at a community level and the ability to use and comprehend written and spoken Spanish proficiently employing language registers that are appropriate for the audience. Whenever feasibility outside guests from the healthcare sector will be invited to attend and assess the presentations. At the discretion of the instructor, student observers may also complete and submit a completed rubric. These rubrics will be written in and completed in Spanish.

E. Students will now organize and present their career health projects to a community. These projects will be evaluated based on a rubric that assess leadership, the ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively, the ability to research, develop and teach a presentation at a community level and the ability to use and comprehend written and spoken Spanish proficiently employing language registers that are appropriate for the audience. Whenever feasibility outside guests from the healthcare sector will be invited to attend and assess the presentations and the overall organization of the project. At the discretion of the instructor, student observers may also complete and submit a completed rubric. These rubrics will be written in, and completed in, Spanish.

F. At the end of the course students will share their portfolios and career notebooks with one another in Spanish. Following this shared activity, students will write a 500 word reflective essay detailing what they have learned, how they have grown, what they see as areas of strength and areas for growth as well as plan for continued study of both the target language and their chosen health care professions.The portfolios will be assessed using a rubric that shows the degree of growth in Spanish language proficiency in all four skill areas (reading, writing, speaking, listening) as well as the degree to which the student has demonstrated that he/she has acquired the required CTE competencies for the healthcare sector and, more specifically, for the patient care pathway.

Proposed Portfolio Submissions:

Copies of completed rubrics created for this unit | Copies of recorded / digitized presentations and / or role plays | Copies of essays, charting notes, etc. | Copies of vocabulary acquisition activities such as anatomy and physiology drawings, songs, mnemonic devices etc.

Course Materials

Primary Texts:

Title: District-adopted Spanish 3 textbook
Usage: Read in entirety or near entirety

Title: District-adopted CTE textbook related to patient care and healthcare
Usage: Read in entirety or near entirety

Title: Spanish for Healthcare Workers
Edition: 2
Publication Date: 2010
Publisher: McGraw Hill
Author(s): Joanna Rios and Jose Fernandez Torres
Usage: Primary Text Read in entirety or near entirety

 

Supplemental Instructional Materials:

Pamphlets and brochures written in Spanish available from insurance providers that explain what healthcare services are available and how they are accessed.

Intake forms, HIPAA forms and charting resources written in the target language

This website is an online explanation in Spanish of the healthcare system in the United States sponsored by Blue Cross / Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Online resource for acquisition of vocabulary and Spanish grammar concepts

An online resource for acquisition of Spanish vocabulary

American College of Emergency Physicians, Primeros Auxilios, RCP y DAE estándar, (Sexta edición) c 2012 by Jones and Bartlett Learning. This book provides information on first aid and patient care.

Handel, Kathleen A Dra., Guía Simple de Primeros Auxilios (Nueva versión en español totalmente revisada), c. 2012 published by DocHandal LLC

Article on cultural diversity in health care in Spanish 

The students will be able to enter this website and discover OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is a part of the US Department of Labor that establishes, issues, and enforces national workplace safety regulations. These are designed to make job areas and practices safer for US workers. The students explore this in the Spanish language.

The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) website will inform the students of various information that enhances their knowledge of health and safety in Spanish. They will allow the student to explore other areas that may affect their careers.

This video website enhances the student’s understanding on how body mechanics will help prevent personal injury by moving a patient from a gurney to a bed, providing the “patients” directions in Spanish.

Mi Proximo Paso website 

US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Healthcare Occupations 

Textbook: Simmers, Louise. Diversified Health Occupations. 7th ed. Thomson Delmar Learning, 2008. ISBN 978-1418030216

National Health Care Skill Standards American Medical Association website 


Top 100 Health-Care Careers by Dr. Saul Wischnitzer and Edith Wischnitzer, Jist Works. Indianapolis, Indiana. c. 2011 


101 Careers in Public Health by Beth Seltzer, MD MPH, Springer Publishing Company, New York, New York. c. 2011

Health Care Job Explosion:High Growth Healthcare Careers and Job Locator by Dennis V. Damp, Bookhaven Press, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, c. 2006

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