黑暗爆料网 to offer unique Spanish for the Health Professions degree in fall 2013
July 24, 2013
黑暗爆料网 will offer a Spanish for Health Professions degree program beginning fall 2013 that will help graduates better serve the health care needs of the state, region and country. Courses will be available at 黑暗爆料网-Meridian via distance learning.
鈥淲hile we were designing the program we did extensive research and we didn鈥檛 find anything like it in the U.S.,鈥� said Helen Tarp, 黑暗爆料网 associate professor of Spanish and the director of the new program. 鈥淎s far as we know, this is the only program of its kind in the country.鈥�
The program will be a joint effort between the 黑暗爆料网 Department of Languages and Literature in the College of Arts and Letters and the 黑暗爆料网 Division of Health Sciences. It provides both health professions and language students additional credentials and expertise for their careers.
鈥淔or students in the health professions it will help them find better jobs and be more competitive getting into professional health schools,鈥� Tarp said. 鈥淔or the language students it opens whole new career paths.鈥�
There is a great need for Spanish speakers in health care settings in the United States. In Idaho, for example, the Hispanic population increased by 63 percent in the last 10 years, according to Tarp. Nationally, by 2050, the U.S. Hispanic/Latino population will be approximately 24 percent of the entire population of the United States. Some of these residents are more proficient in Spanish than English and some speak English 鈥渘ot well or not at all.鈥�
鈥淚n emergency rooms or doctors鈥� offices having someone proficient in communicating in Spanish will make everybody鈥檚 lives easier,鈥� Tarp said.
For the language-oriented students from the College of Arts and Letters, the degree could potentially open up jobs and careers in medical translation and other fields. There鈥檚 a huge demand for people who can translate from English to Spanish for everything from prescription information to medical information displayed on websites, to communicating with Spanish-speakers in a medical, dental or agency setting.
The program is designed to dovetail with existing curriculum requirements in both the College of Arts and Letters and the Division of Health Professions, making it easier for students to double-major in their chosen fields. Language and culture will be emphasized in the curriculum.
鈥淭he program will offer the best of both worlds,鈥� Tarp said. 鈥淥ur students will learn concrete language and cultural skills so they can use both effectively.鈥�
For more information on the program, contact Tarp at tarphele@isu.edu or visit the Department web page .