Veterinary Spanish

Introduction to Basic Veterinary Spanish

This past winter, two DVM students took on a challenge to create a Special Topics course to teach elementary Spanish to their student colleagues.

¡Hola!

My name is Natalia Antonsanti-Santana, and I am a DVM candidate for the Class of 2025, hence a current second-year veterinary student. I am interested in integrative medicine, aquatic medicine, exotics, shelter med, and Small Animal GP, among others. Therefore, I am taking any chance I have during vet school to explore everything while enjoying my way through it.

My name is Hery (pronounced "Eddie") Ríos-Guzmán and my pronouns are he/him/él. I am the current Latinx Veterinary Medical Association at Cornell's president and am a member of the Class of 2024. Growing up in Puerto Rico heavily influenced my veterinary interest: aquatic animal medicine. Once I'm finished with school, I'd love to work with corals, which are my absolute favorite animals.

What was your inspiration for creating this Spanish course?

Natalia

There is a necessity in veterinary medicine to tackle the language barrier that is interfering with the care of Latin-owned pets. Our goal is to integrate a Spanish course into the veterinary curriculum. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the United States and the world, which means that as client service professionals, we will encounter Spanish-speaking clients or times when Spanish is needed. Effective client communication is essential in our field, and language barriers are severe in veterinary medicine.

Hery

I will take a quick second to give credit where credit is due. First, this course is Mariacamila García Estrella's idea; she has wanted this course to happen since she was LVMA at Cornell's first president. Second, this course would never have come true without Natalia's brilliance, dedication, and hard work. She is the mastermind behind everything. It was an absolute pleasure to help in any way, shape, or form!

I consider this Topics course a stepping-stone: our main goals are not only to provide Spanish lessons to non-native speakers, but to establish a permanent course at the veterinary school. Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in the United States. Given the increasing need for veterinary professionals with a basic understanding of the language, we think a basic Spanish course should be implemented as a distribution/elective course. It would improve Cornell's veterinary students' professional competence and cultural humility, and would enhance Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Do you think there is enough interest to have the class offered each year?

Hery

I think students (and faculty) at Cornell would love to learn Spanish. In fact, when we first sent out an interest form, we received ~80 responses. That's almost 3/4 of a class cohort! Given the amount of interest, Natalia and I think this could definitely be an elective course provided during Distribution period. However, we would need to secure a Spanish-speaking faculty member or a Spanish teacher (or both) to take charge of the course before that is a reality. On the other hand, an adequate number of teaching assistants would depend on Cornell Vet's continuous efforts to increase the amount of diverse, Spanish-speaking students that form part of future cohorts.

Natalia

Absolutely! I do think there is enough sustained interest in the TAs to continue offering the course each year. The class format we constructed is based on their availability and willingness to serve as role models of the language. For that reason, in future years, the course will depend entirely on the diversity of the incoming classes. The diversification of the classes and having people from different backgrounds is vital.

When we first sent out the interest form to students, we received 80+ responses from all the Cornell CVM classes. And after the course, many students replied that they were interested in taking additional courses to keep practicing and learning. So, there is definitely interest from the student body to learn Spanish!

I would love (and it is my goal) to see this course being offered again in the Cornell veterinary curriculum and become part of the regular offerings.

Do you think that the class was a success in the way you had hoped?

Natalia

It was a success in each and every way that I expected! Even more! Seeing the students' compromise, dedication, and willingness to understand and practice, confirmed how much a course in Spanish was needed at Cornell CVM.

I am passionate about creating safe learning spaces where students can explore, learn, and practice a subject without judgment. The course is intended to teach students basic veterinary Spanish, including greetings, anatomy, medical terminology, and other vocabulary words they may use daily in veterinary settings. Still, learning a language entails grammar, alphabet, pronunciation, and the distinct characteristics of the language, which were also part of the course. Hence, the positive outcomes were a lot, but as previously listed, the time frame did not correlate well with the amount of information delivered. We hope the issue can get fixed in future offerings!

I am so proud of all of the students that participated. I appreciate the opportunity they gave us to complete this project and show how much the course is needed. There could be no class offerings without students. ¡Gracias!

Hery

Natalia and I (especially Natalia) worked really, really hard to pull this course together. We had to juggle the Curriculum Committee's, Course Leader's, TAs', students', and our own expectations, wants, and needs while making sure evaluations were meaningful and understandable. I think the hardest part was making sure we weren't missing anything. Is the syllabus clear enough? Should we allow students an absence? Are participants handing in the required assignments? There were a lot of details to keep track of!

Despite all of this, I believe that this course was a success! There was something incredibly satisfying about seeing students trying their best to learn a language that is completely foreign to them. I loved every "Hola, mi nombre es...," every rolled "r," every meaningful TA-student interaction. I feel like, even if at a very basic level, students took away basic Spanish knowledge and valuable resources that will surely be useful in the future.

What is the most important thing you hope the students learned about communicating with Latinx clients?

Natalia

The most important thing I hope the students learned during this course is that people care when you try. It is more than becoming fluent and bilingual. It is about understanding, considering, and respecting other cultures, in this case, Latin American cultures. Trying is caring. Caring for your clients, pets, and their welfare. Latinx clients appreciate the effort. For me, it is essential that they take away that there are apps, books, websites, and other resources to facilitate communication with Latinx clients. I hope this introductory veterinary Spanish course has provided them with the vocabulary, insight into the language, and beneficial and helpful language skills they could use.

Hery

My biggest hope is that students understand that knowing Spanish, even at a very basic level, can make a significant difference in patient outcomes. Almost all Spanish-speaking clients will deeply appreciate any effort that is made to learn their mother tongue. This, in turn, enhances client interactions, leads to better diagnoses and compliance, and, ultimately, the provision of the best veterinary care possible.