Spanish Archives | �鶹ԭ�� News

�鶹ԭ�� College of Medicine Leads the Way in Bilingual Medical Training

Eddy Duryea ’13 — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:41:24 +0000

A new Spanish-language program offered in �鶹ԭ��’s College of Medicine will better equip its students to serve patients in Florida — a state that ranks among the top four in the country for Latino populations and Spanish speakers.

�鶹ԭ�� is the first medical school in Florida offering Spanish language certification through the national Physician Oral Language Observation Matrix exam.

The exam establishes the physician has demonstrated comprehension, vocabulary and pronunciation skills in Spanish to provide care to patients without an interpreter.

Three students have passed the exam already, four are awaiting results and 11 more are on the path to complete it. Two of the certified students recently found out on Match Day they are staying in Florida for their medical residency programs.

“The exam represents a meaningful milestone because it validates that a student can provide safe, language-concordant care in clinical settings,” says Analia Castiglioni, assistant dean and director of the Spanish language program.

Elevated Care for Florida’s Patients

Data shows that communications problems are the most frequent root cause of serious patient safety events such as mismanagement of medications. Patients with limited English language proficiency face higher levels of such risk.

The College of Medicine offers Spanish as its language focus to meet the state’s healthcare needs. Florida ranks as one of the top four states in the country for in Spanish speakers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 22% of Floridians report speaking Spanish at home.

“When the care team and the patient share a common language, something important happens,” Castiglioni says. “Trust develops more quickly, patients share more complete information, and care becomes safer and more compassionate.”

Not Your Average Spanish

Fourth-year medical student Rodolfo Rodriguez came to Florida from South America when he was young and spoke Spanish and English at home. While he is bilingual, he needed to learn medical Spanish to be a more effective physician.

“Household Spanish is much more casual and you’re not using terms that are prevalent in the medical field,” Rodriguez says. “There are also words that don’t directly translate the same, like ‘stroke.’ In Spanish, you wouldn’t say ‘stroke’ you’d say ‘accidente cerebrovascular’ which literally means ‘cerebrovascular accident.’”

He wanted to specialize in rehabilitative medicine after witnessing his father recover from a motorcycle accident. Last week, he matched into the University of Miami’s physical medicine and rehabilitation program.

“I’m overjoyed, and I know my dad is too,” he says. “Many people here in Florida don’t speak English as a first language, so being able to use my medical Spanish to help these patients feel comfortable through the rehab process is something I know will make a difference.”

The training is equally as valuable to non-native speakers like fourth-year M.D. candidate Elizabeth Durkin. She says �鶹ԭ��’s structured program helped strengthen the Spanish skills she studied throughout her education, and she wants to continue building her proficiency. She passed the national certification, and this summer will begin her neurology residency in neurology at HealthONE in Englewood, CO.

“Being able to speak directly with non-English speaking patients has been a goal of mine for a long time,” says Durkin, who used to translate doctor’s visits for her Russian-speaking grandparents. “I’d like to say I did this to honor my family and my grandparents.”

College of Medicine students Elizabeth Durkin, Rodolfo Rodriguez and Anthony Martinez all completed certification in �鶹ԭ��’s Spanish Language program.

Certification Program Details

Students are eligible to take the Medical Spanish electives in the summer before their second year of medical school, before they go into clerkships at hospitals and clinics, and/or in their fourth year.

In addition to formal Spanish language education, they practice obtaining patient histories and provide treatment plans in Spanish with standardized patients in the College of Medicine’s Clinical Skills and Simulation Center. Every patient encounter is taped and evaluated by Brenda Perez, who is a Certified Healthcare Interpreter in Spanish, the medical curriculum program manager at the College of Medicine and a casual Spanish interpreter at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Lake Nona.

The college hopes to expand the program to continue meeting the community’s needs.

“My vision is for the program to continue growing,” Castiglioni says. “That means building strong partnerships with clinical sites that serve Spanish-speaking communities and creating opportunities for our students to rotate in those settings, where their language skills can directly enhance patient care.”

College of Medicine students interested in learning more about the medical Spanish program may email commedspanish@ucf.edu.

�鶹ԭ�� Executive Development Center Hosted Spanish MBA Students

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:42:43 +0000

A group of MBA students from Spain toured Central Florida businesses and heard from local leaders as participants of the �鶹ԭ�� Executive Development Center’s (EDC) International Residency Program partnership.

You can view more photos from the students’ visit at the EDC’s Facebook page.

As part of the week-long program, the students learned about Central Florida’s history and development, the challenges and economic impact of area tourism and the global economy’s effects on Orlando.

The group heard presentations given by business leaders from:

Consensus Communications

Deloitte Consulting

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

JHT Incorporated

Mall at Millenia

Orlando/Orange County ~ VISIT ORLANDO

�鶹ԭ�� College of Business Administration faculty members

Walt Disney World executives

World Class Benchmarking

Additionally, they met executives and took a behind-the-scenes tour of EPCOT, RDV Sportsplex, Daytona International Speedway and the newly relocated National Entrepreneurship Center.

This was the fourth time the EDC has hosted the Escuela de Organización International (EOI), which was founded by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Education to provide engineers with management and organizations skills.

The EDC, which is part of the �鶹ԭ�� College of Business Administration, is rapidly gaining a reputation as a destination to host international residencies for foreign universities. The EDC provides a critical link to help create global partnerships with overseas businesses.

“Everyone benefits from this global alliance. The students from Spain learn more about our culture and the way we do business, and we learn more their culture and business strategies,” said Tiffany Hughes, senior associate director of the EDC.

�鶹ԭ��’s Executive Development Center offers a full range of executive and professional master programs, including the Executive MBA, the Professional MBA, and the Professional Master of Science in Management and Real Estate. In addition, the center offers professional development programs and can customize a highly interactive executive residency for global corporations.

For more information about the EDC, visit the Executive Development Center.

Se Habla Español? Bilingual Orientation Offered to Families

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:12:02 +0000

The �鶹ԭ�� started hosting bilingual orientations during summer 2006. The session was created for parents or family members who speak or prefer to speak Spanish. While a large number of these parents do in fact speak and understand English, the Spanish sessions provide parents an opportunity to assimilate large amounts of information in their native tongue. Through the Office of First Year Experience, these orientations occur twice each summer; one for parents of students admitted for Summer B term and the other for parents of students admitted for the fall semester.

The structure of the program is very similar to the English parent program. After the initial orientation welcome, parents are sent to hear their first presentation of the day. At this time, parents who self selected to be a part of the bilingual program go to a separate room and hear the same information in Spanish. Each PowerPoint has been translated in Spanish and a representative from each office or orientation presents all the information and answers all questions in Spanish. In addition, student orientation leaders (O-Teamers) who are fluent in Spanish provide a student perspective for these parents.

At this past orientation on June 7-8, 30 guests attended the Spanish program and the following are a few of the comments from their experience:

I very much liked the information given, and the interest and professionalism of those in charge of providing the orientation

The university was well prepared in receiving the parents and in my case, I felt very pleased because of the environment, the cleanliness, the availability and friendliness of the whole staff. Thank you very much. . . and as a family we feel very happy that our daughter is now part of �鶹ԭ��.

Orientation has been very beneficial to me because it has helped me clarify all the concerns about my daughter beginning college. Thank you.

The bilingual program is facilitated by Danny Meuninck and Sophie Cortes-Thomas, First Year Experience (FYE). For additional information, call 407.823.5105. The office of FYE is in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

O-Teamers spirit in motion

Students Immersed in Spanish Culture

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:50:41 +0000

Fifteen students are immersing themselves in the Spanish culture this summer through two of �鶹ԭ��’s study abroad programs.

Ten undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Education are helping to facilitate a new bilingual education program throughout the Region of Castilla and Leon. Students are teaching English classes at area elementary schools, living with Spanish families and exploring the region during their 10-week stay.

Five students are improving their conversational Spanish skills by studying at the University of Valladolid in a two-week intensive language course offered by �鶹ԭ��’s Office of International Studies. Students attend classes during the week and tour historical cities such as Madrid and Salamanca on the weekends.