Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin Medical College of Wisconsin
MCW Office of Global Health
Office of Global Health

Medical Spanish Continuum of Learning at MCW

The Medical College of Wisconsin is committed to delivering the highest quality of care to our medically underserved communities and non-English speaking patients through the Medical Spanish program. Our goal is to provide students the linguistic skills and sociocultural knowledge necessary to care for our Latinx/Hispanic patients and community.

Additionally, understanding all cultures aligns with MCW's vision to become an anti-racist organization through listening, learning, and practice change.
Students have identified numerous strengths and benefits of Medical Spanish exposure and education:
  • Cultural and linguistic knowledge to successfully navigate patient-physician relationship in a medical setting
  • Opportunity to practice Spanish, particularly in small groups with native and/or fluent Spanish-speaking volunteers
  • Focus on useful, high-yield Spanish vocabulary and grammar to achieve basic conversational skills in a short period of time
  • Emphasis on practical and relevant medical skills
  • Confidence and comfort to use Spanish in clinical practice

Medical Students

Physicians in training have expressed an overwhelming interest in learning more about the diverse patient populations they serve.

The growth in the Latinx population, in Wisconsin and nationwide, continues to be an important demographic change in the first decade of the 21st century. Throughout their careers, MCW graduates will communicate and interface with patients whose preferred language is Spanish. In addition to speaking Spanish, our graduates will develop cultural sensitivity for Latinx/Hispanic culture in order to initiate and sustain a successful physician-patient relationship. Furthermore, there is a national prerogative for medical schools to include cross-cultural and linguistic curricula to foster competently prepared physicians.

Students of all language levels can join at any time throughout their medical school training. Students must complete a minimum of 12 hours of Spanish-language learning spread out across medical school to receive the distinction in Medical Spanish on their transcript.

Below are examples of opportunities medical students can partake in throughout their training.

Medical School Offerings by Year

all
M1
  • Global Health or Urban and Community Health Pathways
  • Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) community service opportunities and events
  • Intermediate/Advanced Medical Spanish
  • International Medical Student Pen-Pal Club
M1 to M2 Year Summer
  • Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) service opportunities and events
  • Shadow at community health centers serving Latinx population: Sixteenth St. Clinic or Walker’s Point Clinic
  • National Medical Fellowship Primary Leadership Program
  • Summer research with Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research in a Spanish speaking country or locally with a Latinx health foci
M2
M3
M4
  • Global Health or Urban and Community Health Pathways
  • Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) community service opportunities and events
  • Intermediate/Advanced Medical Spanish
  • International Medical Student Pen-Pal Club
  • Global Health Away Rotations at faculty’s partner institutions:
    Colombia, Universidad de Santander, Dr. Jim Sanger, Plastic Surgery
    Cuba, University of Havana, Calixto Hospital, Dr. Marc de Moya, Surgery
    Ecuador, Andean Health and Development, Dr. Ashley Pavlik, Emergency Medicine
    Peru, Lima Children’s Hospital, Dr. Michael Mitchell, Pediatrics
    Puerto Rico, San Jorge Children’s Hospital, Dr. Leah Cobb, Orthopaedic Surgery

Electives

M1-M4, Intermediate and Advanced Medical Spanish, Electives

Both the Intermediate (Fall) and Advanced (Spring) Medical Spanish electives are offered annually to any medical student during any year of training.
They consist of 4 didactic sessions and 4 conversational sessions, taught by a certified medical interpreter and involve Spanish-speaking volunteers from the community. In addition to language skills, the course provides more in-depth exploration of the Latinx culture and the impact the culture may have on interactions between the Spanish-speaking patient, their family, and the health care system. Students may choose to take the elective courses multiple times throughout their training to continue developing their skills. More information here (PDF).
If you consider yourself a heritage speaker, contact Tifany Frazer (tfrazer@mcw.edu), elective coordinator to discuss an individualized learning plan for you.

Note: At the end of this elective, the student will not be prepared to replace the need for an interpreter in medical or emergency situations. Each hospital determines their own process for overseeing the language proficiency process internally. As a Spanish interpreter, all providers are required to work with a Spanish interpreter unless the healthcare organization has documented their native or near-native level of proficiency, which is sometimes done within the organization or through a verified third-party.


M4 Global Health Away Elective Offerings

The Office of Global Health provides MCW medical, pharmacy, and graduate students, residents, and fellows with educational resources and funding opportunities so that they can safely and sustainably pursue their global health interests.

MCW faculty’s global collaborators offer an opportunity for MCW trainees to view healthcare delivery in their countries. Please see below and list of global health electives (PDF) to view current offerings.

Opportunities & Events

M1-M4, MCW International Medical Student Pen-Pal Club

The MCW International Medical Student Pen-Pal Club is an organization committed to uniting medical students together through friendship and correspondence in order to develop culturally compassionate future physicians. We believe pen-pals are a unique way of creating international networks, making lifelong and meaningful global friendships, engaging in cultures different from your own, and learning from others irrespective of borders or distance. This is a fantastic yet low-commitment opportunity to share in another medical student's way of life, culture, language, medical education, health care system, and much more! As far as is publicly known, we are the only medical school in America with a pen-pal club. We are proud that our list of medical schools abroad that wish to affiliate with the Pen-Pal Club grows regularly and now includes all inhabited continents.

If you have any questions or would like to join us in this journey, please email penpalclub@mcw.edu.

Rising M2 Summer Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research

Dr. Elaine Kohler, a MCW alumnus (Pediatrics Fellowship 1968) and former Associate Professor of Pediatrics (1968-1981) is remembered by her medical colleagues and within the community she served with deep respect for her advocacy in the fields of diabetes, obesity, heavy metal toxicity, and mental health. The fund pays tribute to her life’s local and global health work by providing support for those projects and individuals who carry on her selfless commitment to helping others.

The Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research encourages talented rising M2's to enter the research field during a 10-week hands-on experience. Students spend 10-weeks addressing global health disparities locally in Milwaukee and internationally. This experience allows students the opportunity to collaborate with faculty to address global health issues such as water, injury prevention, and human molecular genetics. Students will be paired with a faculty member and their global and local partners.

The Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research Application (DOC) is due December 3.

Diverse Community Events, Off Campus

View these organizations’ annual and ongoing events:
United Community Center Latino Arts events
UW-Milwaukee Center for Latin America and Caribbean Studies events
Latino Chamber of Commerce of Southeastern Wisconsin events