My name is Michaela, and I am currently a third-year pre-nursing student at Mason! I grew up in an English-speaking, monolingual household, but I’ve always dreamed of learning many other languages. So, it was without hesitation that I decided to take a Spanish 101 class for an elective during my sophomore year even though it was not a requirement for the nursing program. Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the United States, and I believe being able to speak and understand it will be an invaluable skill for me, especially as I enter the medical field. Communication is key in any field, but for a person’s health, it is incredibly important in order to provide the best care and treatment. And what better way to communicate with someone than in their own language?
Going forward, I would like to take another Spanish class at Mason, as well as begin to study other languages I may encounter in my nursing career. Non-English speakers can often be forgotten and discriminated against by healthcare workers who only speak English, and the divide that forms between patient and healthcare worker can be deeply harmful to the patient’s health. I hope to help bridge this divide through my own study of other languages in order to make sure all my future patients know that they belong and that they and their health are cared for by their healthcare professional.
May 24, 2021
