The following programs are offered by IHCAI in Costa Rica. For all clinical rotations, a fluent command of Spanish is essential. If you need to improve your medical Spanish, we highly recommend you consider the P010A program, which consists of an intensive Spanish medical course.
Make sure you have read the information on How To Apply.
Our medical Spanish courses are designed for students and professionals from various health field areas:
We have 25 years of experience teaching medical Spanish.
A particular quality of the course that makes it unique is that our students work six hours a day with their tutors, whereas the usual standard is three to four hours a day.
We use our own teaching materials, which have two main focuses. One focuses on the structure of general Spanish, while the other addresses clinical scenarios with an emphasis on medical interviewing and clinical practice. These materials have a practical focus and have evolved over time to facilitate communication between students and their patients.
All our clinical rotation programs are carried out in the Costa Rican health system. They may have an emphasis on primary care or the third level of care. Fluent Spanish is required to participate in these programs. The student meets many goals beyond the clinical. She practices and improves her medical Spanish in cultural immersion and can get to know Costa Rica’s health system and social reality in depth. Students who participate in this program also participate in academic and social activities led by IHCAI staff.
The IHCAI Institute has been running this program since 1992. IHCAI has hosted more than 500 students on clinical rotations from various health fields from 13 different countries (United States, Canada, England, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Mexico, and Guatemala).
For senior students from Costa Rican medical schools (Interns in the internship year). They can be Costa Rican or of other nationalities. Duration: two months. Location: The Boston hospital circuit affiliated with Harvard Medical School (HMS) is a world-renowned network of 15+ premier clinical affiliates and research institutes, primarily anchored in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area. These institutions provide training and research for HMS, with major, flagship institutions including Mass General Brigham (Mass General, Brigham and Women’s), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Eligibility: Only outstanding students who have been awarded an IHCAI-HMS scholarship are eligible to participate. The process is completed through the AAMC VSLO portal. Important: Students interested in applying for this scholarship should do so well in advance.
