Several studies have shown that language concordant care results in significantly greater satisfaction and outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency. With over 26 million people with limited English skills in the US, the need is urgent to ensure the delivery of more compassionate and effective care. As a new study from the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine illuminates, Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have largely embraced this challenge head on with the adoption of medical Spanish programs that address the greatest language access needs patients and clinicians face today. The study reveals the popularity and promise of medical Spanish curricula, and where these largely nascent programs can improve.
The study, led by Kally Dey from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University, investigated the prevalence and quality of medical Spanish education via surveys to 44 member schools of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) between March and October of 2022, receiving 40 respondents and supplementing data from publicly available sources for non-respondents. The main objectives of the study were to describe the landscape of medical Spanish education in these schools and evaluate adherence and success in the categories of four basic standards:
- Having a faculty educator
- Providing a curricular structure
- Assessing leaner skills
- Awarding institutional course credit
Results indicated that 88.6% (39/44) offered medical Spanish programs in some form. Of these, 66.7% (26/39) had formal curricula, 43.6% (17/39) had faculty educators, 17.9% (7/39) assessed learner skills, and 28.2% (11/39) provided course credit. Notably, only 12.8% (5/39) of schools met all basic standards, emphasizing the need for improvement, especially in the areas of consistency, quality, and sustainability. The study specifically calls for a need to better measure student proficiency.
Several Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have adopted CanopyLearn, the #1 medical Spanish course in the US, and CanopyCredential, the only scenario-based medical language proficiency assessment specifically
designed to align with ACA Section 1557, to fill that need in their programs to help students learn, practice, and measure medical Spanish skills with great success.
Click here to see the impact Canopy has had at several medical schools.
Click here to read the full study in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine or click here to learn more about how Canopy can help your program develop or improve your programs addressing language concordance training.
