Several UALR students were recently invited to partner with the Center for Clinical Skills Education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Center for a simulation exercise to help medical students train for careers as physicians interacting with a broad range of patients.

Judi Casavechia, a patient educator at the UAMS clinic, contacted Dr. Erin Finzer, interim chair of International and Second Language Studies at UALR, about the partnership last fall.

“The Spanish faculty at UALR were particularly excited to collaborate because they are introducing new curricula that will focus more on Spanish for the professions, including health care, legal, business, and education fields, as well as interpreting and translating,” said Finzer.

UALR’s Elise Redding, Jessica Tate, and Giovanni Arreola were invited to use their Spanish-speaking skills to role play with physicians-in-training.

During the simulation exercise, the med students were only equipped with the knowledge that a non-English speaking patient would be awaiting them in the exam room with an interpreter. Most struggled to figure out who the interpreter was and often assumed (incorrectly) that the Latino man was the non-English speaking patient.

“It was an interesting process,” said Tate. “I had to stay in character and couldn’t help the medical students or the interpreter out in any way.”

“After a few rounds we began to realize the medical students were far more nervous than we were,” added Redding, a double major in Spanish and American Sign Language Interpreting who intends to be a medical interpreter some day.

The experience helped Redding better understand the patient’s perspective and the critical role the interpreters’ competence plays. “The greatest takeaway for me was learning how important trust is in the relationship between the patient and interpreter,” Redding said.

In addition to helping the medical students with potential Spanish-speaking patients, UALR biology major Ushna Ilyas role played as a Muslim patient.

UALR Alumna Mary Cantrell runs the simulation clinic and has been actively involved with the Alumni Association through the years.

The state-of-the-art facility is for case development consultations, assessment, and teaching of clinical skills. A major area of interest is the patient and health professional relationship with detailed feedback on the adequacy of their skills.