The patient had just come to Canada, and only knew enough
English to get a bus ticket and breakfast. But how was
he going to tell the doctor exactly how he felt?
He was comforted to discover his
physician had a basic knowledge of his own language,
and soon felt secure they were communicating successfully.
This is the reality medical students
are facing today and begs the question: Since many immigrants
to Canada can barely speak enough English to get by,
should language training be mandatory for med students?
And if so, where in a routinely jam-packed schedule
would it fit in?
A quick survey conducted at the
University of Western Ontario suggested that many students
already know several languages. And those who don't
said they would be overjoyed if they could expand their
linguistic horizons.
"I would certainly want to learn
another language," says Tanya Raha, a third-year medical
student at the University of Western Ontario. "I would
appreciate some accredited or protected time to do so
at this point in my medical career."
SOFTER
SIDE OF MEDICINE
Dr Carol Herbert, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario,
has several languages under her belt and was enthused
by the idea.
"In recent years, there has been
a trend towards more arts and humanities courses to
complement the science in the curriculum," she explains.
"Medicine is as much an art as a science, and languages
would help medical students develop their skills as
artists and compassionate healers."
At the same time, though, she points
out that mandatory language courses are probably a bad
idea. "It's not the right timing," she explains. "Languages
should be taught on a need-to-know basis."
"Alternatively, we could definitely
consider final-year language electives where students
are immersed in cultural settings and contexts to gain
practical language experience."
KNOW
YOUR LIMITS
Dr Herbert stresses that knowing one's learning limits
is also an important part of the process. "You'd only
learn the language on a basic level, so it's crucial
to respect your limitations and get an interpreter when
any point of a patient's history is unclear."
From the survey results, it seems
many medical students agreed with this line of reasoning.
"I think it would be very difficult
to identify common languages for a mandatory course,"
says Ericka Wiebe, a third-year med student at Western.
"If I was in an area where there happened to be a large
number of people of a specific culture, I'd make an
effort to improve my communication skills with people
of this background. My mom, who is a nurse, is currently
taking Cree in Sioux Lookout, as she often interacts
with Cree-speaking patients."
Arash Zohoor, a third-year medical
student, takes a similar approach. "I would only learn
a language for the purposes of medicine if it was essential.
I speak Farsi and would feel comfortable practising
medicine in that language, but would prefer not to as
I don't know as much medical terminology."
"I would love to learn more languages
and brush up on my Polish and French," says Agnieszkia
Hassa, a third-year med student. "Learning a language
is something to think about when you've settled into
your field of knowledge and have plenty of time to pursue
issues relevant to your practice. One would be the way
you interact with your patients."
From both sides of the academic
table, it seems the interest is there. Students are
willing to learn languages for medical purposes and
are sometimes lucky enough to have a head-start several
times over. University administrators seem keen to give
students the chance to develop a right-brain dimension
to their education that would be individually tailored
to their future practices.
As with all other pursuits in medical
education, then, all that students and faculty need
is the time to actually plan and bring these good ideas
to fruition. Simple, no?
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