Medical Spanish Endocrinology Educational Module.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Endocrinology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Hispanic/Latinx patients face significant health disparities in endocrine diseases, including higher diabetes mortality and poorer thyroid cancer outcomes.
• Lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate care contributes to these disparities.
• Targeted educational strategies are needed to improve endocrine health outcomes for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a medical Spanish endocrine module for medical students.
• To enhance students' cultural and linguistic skills for communicating with Hispanic/Latinx patients about endocrine health.
• To improve student confidence in conducting endocrine-related patient interviews in Spanish.

Main Methods:

• An 8-hour medical Spanish endocrine module was created, comprising self-study, class sessions, role-playing, and case activities.
• The module focused on practicing medical history taking, diagnosis explanation, and discussing sociocultural aspects of endocrine health.
• A pre- and postassessment measured changes in student confidence and knowledge.

Main Results:

• The module was implemented with 47 fourth-year medical students possessing intermediate to advanced Spanish skills.
• All participants reported increased confidence in conducting endocrine interviews and exams in Spanish.
• Heritage Spanish learners showed greater improvement in confidence for eliciting past medical history.

Conclusions:

• The medical Spanish endocrine module effectively improved communication skills among medical students with existing Spanish proficiency.
• Further research should assess clinical performance and applicability to other healthcare professionals and learners.
• This educational intervention holds potential for reducing communication barriers and improving endocrine care for Hispanic/Latinx patients.