The Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) is pleased to announce the course "Easy Spanish for Health Care Professionals."  Scholarships are available for HIV/AIDS clinicians who want to attend the course.  (Eligibility) The deadline for scholarship application is Friday, August 31, 2007.

This 30-hour course is offered this fall in Tampa in collaboration with the University of South Florida College of Medicine's Health Education and Training Center (HETC) and the Gulfcoast North Area Health Education Center (GNAHEC).

Enrollment is limited to 15 participants, per class, so register early!

AETC scholarships are offered to HIV/AIDS clinicians, licensed in the AETC region only, which includes Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This includes physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, and pharmacists. The course is designed for non-Spanish speakers and those who speak a little Spanish. Continuing education credits will be available for licensed nurses who attend 90 percent of the course. Partial credit will not be available.

Click on http://www.faetc.org/Spanish/eligibility to help us determine eligibility for the AETC scholarship. You will be notified within 3 working days if you qualify. At that time, you can formally sign up by going to http://www.gnahec.org/html/hivclinician.htm and, scrolling to the bottom of that page, clicking on the current AHEC events website which gives you an opportunity to register. For questions related to eligibility, contact Amanda Hall, MBA, AETC Coordinator of Medical Spanish at 813-974-1332 or e-mail her at Spanish@FAETC.org. For information related to course logistics, please contact Isabel Ronda, Program Assistant at Gulfcoast North AHEC at 813-929-1000 or ronda@gnahec.org.

Course objectives

At the completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Utilize basic Spanish language skills and medical terminology to communicate with Spanish-speaking patients in a health care setting.
• Describe the importance of cultural sensitivity in working with patients from different cultures.
• Demonstrate appropriate use of medical interpreters/translators in a health care setting.

Cost

The Florida/Caribbean AETC is making this course available free of charge to HIV clinicians, licensed in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, and pharmacists . While there is no cost for HIV clinicians licensed in the region, a deposit of $55 must be paid two weeks prior to the first class session. This deposit will be refunded upon completion of the course (90% attendance).* Registration deadline: September 3, 2006.

* There is an additional fee of $20 for parking. This fee will not be refunded.

When

The 30-hour class will take place over the course of 10 weeks from September 12th to November 14th. (Each Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. All participants receive a certificate of completion, as well as an instructional manual and a CD.

Location

University of South Florida, College of Nursing, Tampa campus. The room assignment will be included with your AHEC confirmation letter after registration.

Who should take this course

HIV clinicians, licensed in our region, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, and pharmacists. The course is designed to introduce both non-Spanish speaking and limited Spanish speaking professionals to conversations that will assist in communicating with patients in a health care setting. If you speak Spanish well, this course is not for you.

Continuing Education Credits

Nursing: Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center is a Florida Board of Nursing approved provider #FBN 3199 of continuing nursing education. This program meets the Board of Nursing requirements for up to 30.0 contact hours.

Students applying for continuing education credits who miss more than 3 hours per course will not be eligible to receive any CE hours; no partial credit will be awarded.