Medicine Across Cultures: Ursinus Offering New Spanish Health Professional Course

Ursinus College is helping bridge the cultural gap in healthcare with a new course designed to equip students with the skills needed to work effectively in diverse environments.

The course, “Spanish for Health Professionals”, is taught by Viena Ballesteros, a lecturer of modern languages. It offers intermediate-level Spanish-speaking students the opportunity to gain the communication skills, cultural knowledge, and awareness necessary to engage with non-English-speaking Hispanic and Latinx communities in healthcare settings.

“The medical field is vast, and this course prepares students to serve multilingual communities with the essential tools and knowledge we’ve developed for this class,” Ballesteros said.

A native of Ecuador, Ballesteros studied abroad in Argentina and Brazil, where she earned a doctorate in medicine and surgery from the University of Guayaquil. After moving to the U.S., she taught a non-credit medical terminology class at Reading Area Community College before joining Ursinus College to teach Spanish. This new course allows her to integrate her expertise in an interdisciplinary way.

“Now, I have the opportunity not only to infuse my culture, but also my passion for medicine,” Ballesteros said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the country, but only about 20% of the U.S. population is bilingual.

“As the Spanish program faculty worked on creating this new course, I learned there is a lot of research about the benefits of bilingual or multilingual health providers and the importance of intercultural competencies, cultural sensitivity, and historical knowledge in healthcare settings,” said Teresa Ko, department chair of modern languages. “At the same time, having these skills—whether through a language major or minor, or a study abroad experience—can help students stand out as candidates for grad school or the job market.”

Ballesteros’ interactive, engagement-based teaching style encourages students to apply what they learn in real-world contexts. She emphasizes the growing importance of bilingualism as the world becomes more culturally diverse.

“It sounds harsh, but one day you’re going to train someone who is going to take your job because you’re not bilingual,” Ballesteros said. “It’s attractive to companies to be bilingual nowadays.”

For more advanced Spanish speakers, Xochitl Shuru, associate professor of modern languages, offers a course called “Spanish Culture and Medicine”. Together, these courses reflect Ursinus College’s commitment to preparing students for an ever-changing, multicultural society.

“I would encourage students not only to take this course but also to explore how language learning can help them in their careers and fields of interest,” Ko said. “They should consider additional opportunities, such as taking more courses, pursuing a minor, or even a major in Spanish.”