Communicating and Coaching in Spanish for Chronic Care

Language barriers affect millions of health care consumers each year in the United States. One in five U.S. residents over the age of 5 years speaks a language other than English.

A multidisciplinary team consisting of applied linguists and nurse educators developed a graduate elective for nursing students who demonstrated a minimum Spanish proficiency level. The course was organized around three core content components: management of type 2 diabetes, motivational interviewing competencies, and strategic communication in Spanish. Course activities included discourse analysis, simulated mini-conversations, and standardized patient simulations.

A multidisciplinary team-teaching approach was ideal in assisting students to develop culturally sensitive clinical language skills.

Language concordance is imperative to providing quality health care to non-English-speaking patients. Health care providers must be able to demonstrate empathy, an understanding of cultural dynamics, and the ability to provide care to non-English-speaking patients. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(1):34-37.].