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Certificate

Spanish for Healthcare Professionals

Learn How to Communicate Directly with Clients and Patients in Spanish to Improve your Quality of Care

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About the Spanish for Healthcare Professionals Program

The ability to speak Spanish is increasingly important in the San Diego area. California is home to nearly 7 million people that are limited English proficient (LEP). Additionally over the past few years the US has experienced an increase in the number of individuals with access to healthcare as a result of the Affordable Care Act. As more individuals who are LEP use private and public healthcare systems, the need for healthcare professionals to learn Spanish in order to effectively communicate with clients increases.

To the extent which healthcare professionals can learn to communicate directly with their clients in Spanish, the quality of care will improve including fewer errors, less misdiagnoses, and better compliance with treatment plans which translates into both cost savings and higher professional self-efficacy for the provider and less morbidity and mortality throughout the Spanish-speaking community.

The Specialized Certificate in Spanish for Healthcare professionals is designed for individuals with little or no formal training in Spanish. The goal of the program is to build student’s effectiveness in communicating with Spanish speaking clients in various healthcare settings.

Students will learn both general Spanish and Spanish medical terminology in order to be able to understand their Spanish-speaking clients and increase their cultural competence which will help them connect and build rapport with clients and have more insight into client-interpreter conversations.

Live Online
9 Months
Varies by student and courses taken per quarter.
$1,145
Early enrollment discount available. Cost does not include textbooks or parking.

Course Benefits

  • The opportunity to network with motivated adult learners who share your interests.
  • UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies academic credit and optional BRN relicensure credit available.
  • A specialized certificate in Spanish for Healthcare Professionals which can lead to new professional opportunities in our bicultural and bilingual region.
  • Expert instructors who are experienced in teaching adult language learners.
  • Pre-planned curriculum and sequence of courses designed to keep you on track and increase your confidence, ease, and fluidity with the language.
  • A relaxed, interactive and supportive class atmosphere for maximum opportunity to practice coupled with convenient evening classes that fit your busy professional schedule.

What You Will Learn

  • Both general Spanish and Spanish medical terminology in order to be able to understand Spanish-speaking clients/patients.
  • How to increase your cultural competence to help you connect and build rapport with clients or patients, and have more insight into client-interpreter conversations.
  • Build your effectiveness in communicating with Spanish-speaking clients in various healthcare settings.
  • Increased cultural awareness and historical knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world.

This Program Is Designed For

  • Healthcare professionals who desire to become certified in Spanish for Healthcare.
  • Healthcare professionals seeking career advancement in the translation and interpretation field.
  • Medical professionals seeking to enrich their ability to communicate with non-Native speakers in a medical setting.

How to Apply

This certificate requires an application before taking any courses. There will be a $0.00 fee to apply to this program. Students will be required to pay a $95.00 fee upon acceptance to start their certificate program.

Get More Information

For detailed information, please contact our Arts, Humanities, Languages & Digital Arts department.

Spanish for Healthcare Professionals
Classroom type:
Live Online
In-Person
Online
Hybrid
Download Course List

Required Courses

Optional Additional Courses

Conditions for Admission

Applicants are encouraged to have some previous general healthcare knowledge. No prior Spanish language knowledge is necessary.

All courses are open to students not enrolled in the certificate, but enrollment in the certificate will require an application and certificate fee.

Certificate Guidelines

The Specialized Certificate in Spanish for Healthcare Professionals is issued upon completion of the total number of required credit units (9 quarter units).

The approximate cost of the program is estimated at $980 (includes course fees and certificate enrollment fee), and is paid incrementally as students enroll in courses, rather than up front. Early enrollment discounts can reduce the cost to $905. Cost does not include textbooks, parking, or optional electives. Course fees and schedules are subject to change.

BRN Relicensure Credit

The Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 1-3 courses can be completed for 30 hours of BRN relicensure credit each. BRN board does not award partial credit. Students trying to earn BRN CEU credit cannot miss any class meetings and must sign in with their BRN license # during each class meeting.

Additional Information

Questions about our classes or certificates? Contact our department at 858-534-5760 or ahl@ucsd.edu.

Hear From Students

Learning to communicate in a Foreign Language can be fun. UC San Diego Extension's Foreign Language students and students in the Spanish for Healthcare Professionals certificate program share their insights and reasons for learning a foreign language from us.

Related Documents

FAQs

Level 1: Fall and Spring quarters
Level 2: Winter and Summer quarters
Level 3: Spring and Fall quarters 

Classes are typically held on a weeknight, once a week from 6:30-9:30pm for 10 consecutive weeks.
The Spanish for Healthcare Professionals certificate requires 9 credits. Students new to the Spanish language should complete Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 1-3 sequentially. Students should not complete any of the levels out of order or concurrently as each level builds upon the previous level(s).
The certificate consists of three required courses which should be completed sequentially; therefore it takes three quarters/nine months to complete this certificate.

Students can transfer in one college level Spanish course to substitute for Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 1 only. The transferred course must have been completed within the last five years at an accredited educational institution. Please email ahl@ucsd.edu for more information about transferability of previously completed Spanish language courses.
 
Students who have some academic knowledge of Spanish but are not able to transfer in a previously completed Spanish course from an accredited educational institution and feel that Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 2 would be a better fit for a starting point in the series are expected to:

  1. Know the grammar and vocabulary covered in Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 1

  2. Review the patient conversations and medical terminology covered in the textbook chapters reviewed in level 1 prior to starting level 2

  3. Complete Spanish for Communication 4 or Spanish for Communication 5 after completing Spanish for Healthcare Professionals levels 2 and 3 to meet the certificate’s credit requirements. Students may choose which level (either 4 or 5) they feel is a better fit for their knowledge of Spanish grammar.

Our classes post to our website and become open for enrollment approximately two months prior to the new quarter starting. If you’d like to get an email reminder you can sign up for our newsletter(s) in My Extension, under the “Preferences” tab.
We recommend enrolling as soon as possible. Many of our core certificate courses may fill up before the course start date. Each quarter we also offer an early enrollment discount of $25 on select courses if you enroll by the discount deadline.
Students are advised to be enrolled no later than the day before the start date of the course.
 
Enrollment in a course may be closed for one or more of the following reasons:
  • The course is at capacity. If the course is at capacity you will only be able to join the waitlist. If space becomes available in the course, students on the waitlist are contacted in the order they joined the waitlist.
  • The course has progressed to a point where students will no longer be able to make-up missed work and be successful in the course.
  • The course is cancelled due to low enrollments.
For all three of these reasons we recommend students enroll early in the courses they are interested in.
The Spanish for Healthcare courses cost $350 each. Each quarter we offer an early enrollment discount of $25 if you enroll by the discount deadline (usually 4-6 weeks prior to the start of the new quarter) which brings the class fee down to $325.

The approximate cost of the entire program is estimated at $1,145 (includes course fees and certificate enrollment fee), and is paid incrementally as students enroll in courses, rather than up front. Early enrollment discounts can reduce the cost to $1,070. Cost does not include textbooks, or optional electives.
The refund deadline for courses in this program is typically 3 days after the start of the course. This allows you to enroll in a course and participate in the first class meeting to determine if the course is a good fit. Then, if needed, either you may either transfer your enrollment to a different course or submit a drop request by emailing Student Services at unex-reg@ucsd.edu. The exact refund deadline for each section is listed in the section notes on the course page in our website, and you can also find it in My Extension by clicking on “My Courses” and then the name of the course.
Students are expected to attend all class meetings, participate in class, and complete all homework assignments. Attendance is factored as a part of students’ final grades, and varies by instructor. Typically students can miss one class meeting without it impacting their final grade as long as they still complete their homework. Students who miss a class meeting should always reach out to their instructor regarding late work and homework.
You may take a course for one of three options: Letter Grade, Pass/No Pass, or Not for Credit. If you are taking a course towards a certificate you must complete your courses for credit (i.e. Pass/No Pass or Letter Grade) and receive a C-/Pass or higher grade. Grades below a C-, No Pass, and Not for Credit will not count towards certificate requirements.
If you are taking this course for Board of Registered Nursing Continuing Education Units (BRN CEUs) credit it is important to know that we are not allowed to issue partial credit for BRN CEUs. In order to receive BRN CEU credit you must attend all class meetings and sign in on the class sign-in sheet as proof of attendance. 

Only students who are trying to earn BRN CEUs need to sign in on the class sign-in sheet.
Currently all of our foreign language classes are held "live-online" via Zoom.
 

If your class is located at our La Jolla campus and takes place on a weeknight, you will need to pay for parking. No parking permit is required at our University City Center (UCC) location.

We recommend purchasing a quarterly night parking permit (~$43). If you are taking a 9-10 week class it is more affordable to buy this permit rather than use the hourly permit machines ($3 per hour). Quarterly night permits can be purchased online at: http://ow.ly/DnTP302mth0. Parking on weekends is free.

Parking is free at our University City Center (UCC) location. Prior to your first class please register your car with this link.

At this time all of our foreign language classes are held "live-online" via Zoom. 
UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies is not a degree granting institution, however many UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies courses can be transferred to other colleges or universities.

The transferability of credit is determined solely by the receiving institution. Students should discuss how your individual courses will transfer with the Office of the Registrar at the receiving institution prior to enrolling.

Quarter to Semester Unit Conversion

If the receiving institution operates on a semester system, credits will be converted to semester hours during their evaluation. As a general rule, quarter credits are converted to semester credits by dividing the number of quarter credits by 1.5. For example, if the student completed a course worth 4 quarter credits at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, the course would be worth 4 ÷ 1.5 = 2.66 semester credits.
For questions regarding our classes and certificates, please contact us at ahl@ucsd.edu or 858-534-5760.
To enroll into a class, click on the class link in the matrix and that will take you to that class page. There you can find the start date for that course, and you can click on “Add to Cart” which will lead you to complete the registration/payment process.

Advisory Board

Luz Chung, MA, EdD

Lecturer, World Language Supervisor, and Faculty Undergradua
University of California, San Diego

Graciela Gomez-Vittori, BA

Interpreter and Lecturer
UC San Diego, Department of Reproductive Medicine

Grant Goodall, PhD

Director and Professor, Linguistics Language Program
University of California, San Diego

Teresa Newman, FNP, MA, PhD

Translator, Interpreter, Executive Director, and Lecturer
BCN Connections and UCSD Extension

Maria Lourdes Reyes

Director, Principal Investigator, and Physician
Project Concern International and CDC Reach

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