Alameda International High School has created a unique career pathway suited just to their students.
The Bilingual Medical Terminology class is part of the school’s International Baccalaureate Career Related Certificate Program – the goal is to prepare Alameda students for careers in health.
“They already have the foundation in the language to add the pieces on that they’ll need later for things like anatomy, physiology any other piece of medical Spanish,” said medical Spanish terminology teacher Catheryn Phipps Orive.
The program started four years ago and has tripled its enrollment, inspiring other high schools to consider beginning their own program. Some students will qualify for entry-level medical jobs right after graduation, others will use this as a stepping stone for higher-med learning.
Demand for people well-versed in bilingual medical speak is high. The class gives students the opportunity to practice bilingual techniques through sports performance enhancement, including building goals for athletes to follow.
“We have a multitude of different levels of language learning, we have people who speak absolutely no Spanish, people who are in the second, third or fourth year of Spanish and then we have native speakers,” said Phipps Orive.