Clinical Medical Spanish and Health Science Enrichment Programs at UI Health

UI Health is UIC’s academic health enterprise at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago. The College of Medicine offers a variety of educational opportunities, including specialized electives and summer enrichment programs.

Clinical Medical Spanish Elective

The purpose of the course is to increase medical student comfort level with Spanish-language interviews, examination, and patient education. It will provide ample experience in live and simulated Spanish patient interviews, supervision of interview styles and Spanish-language skills, discussion of common diagnosis, procedural consent, treatment plans, and patient education in Spanish to empower medical students to practice medicine with the nationally growing monolingual Spanish-speaking patient population.

Prerequisites and Enrollment

This elective will be offered during the following periods:

• Fall: 09/15/25 – 09/26/25
• Spring: 02/16/26 – 02/27/26

PREREQUISITES AND PLACEMENT IN THE CURRICULUM involve Third- or Fourth-year medical students with a conversational Spanish level of approximately Fair or above. This is equivalent to a low-intermediate general Spanish-speaking ability. Students who are unsure of Spanish level or feel they are borderline to pre-qualify should contact faculty instructor directly to determine appropriateness.

Spanish Fluency Levels for Physicians

The following levels are adapted from the International Language Roundtable (ILR) Scale for Physicians:

Level	Description
Excellent	Speaks proficiently, equivalent to that of an educated speaker; has complete fluency in the language.
Very Good	Able to use the language fluently and accurately on all levels related to work needs in a healthcare setting.
Good	Able to speak the language with sufficient accuracy and vocabulary to have effective conversations on most familiar topics.
Fair	Meets basic conversational needs and can handle casual conversation about work, school, and family.
Poor	Satisfies elementary needs and minimum courtesy requirements; unable to communicate most healthcare concepts.
None	Has minimal to no Spanish conversational abilities.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate the conversational Spanish skills necessary to introduce him/herself to the patient and confirm the patient’s identity and chief complaint.
• Conduct a history of present illness in Spanish.
• Conduct relevant review of systems in Spanish.
• Conduct relevant ancillary medical history (medical, surgical, social, sexual, and family histories) in Spanish.
• Elicit the patient’s medication list and allergy history in Spanish.
• Comprehend the historical information provided by the patient in Spanish.

Latino Health Science Enrichment Program (LaHSEP)

LaHSEP 3 is a six-week summer academic enrichment program for incoming first-year undergraduate students. It is FREE of charge. This program is for first-year undergraduate students who plan to attend UIC in the fall and who have a genuine interest in medicine or the health sciences. The program provides participants the opportunity to prepare to start/transition into UIC in the fall.

Program Components and Requirements

Participants will be taking pre-health workshops, engage in research, develop English, Chemistry, and math skills (Algebra and calculus). In addition to being exposed to college-level courses, participants will meet guest speakers in health careers and former LaHSEP participants who are in medicine.

Program Requirements:

• Must be an incoming first-year undergraduate (Freshman) in Fall 2026.
• Must have been accepted and attending UIC in the fall.
• Complete UIC or other university/college placement exams and place into college level English 160 and Math 121 or above.
• Submit online LaHSEP application, personal statement, and a signed letter of recommendation.

Key Dates and Deadlines

1. December 01, 2025: Application opens online.
2. June 5, 2026: Deadline for receipt of online applications.
3. June 10, 2026: Selection and notification of participants.
4. June 15, 2026: First day of LaHSEP.
5. July 24, 2026: Last day of LaHSEP.

Participants will receive a stipend upon successful completion of the program. All students selected for LaHSEP are expected to participate for the entire six weeks, Monday through Friday.

Program Advancing Research for Equity (PARE)

PARE is a research initiative to provide highly talented and motivated junior and senior undergraduate students with a rich experience in healthcare and biomedical research. This intensive 10-week summer research program aims to foster equity in the medical field.