Diario 1

This past week, I became more aware and enlightened on Hispanic culture. The discussion that I continue to think about is the one we had on acculturation and how, as medical professionals, we should carry the conversation. This discussion brought into account trust in alternative practices, generational differences, and stress on the welfare of the family. These aspects, in general, affect how medical professionals should interact with their Hispanic patients in regard to the sensitivity necessary. In other lectures I have attended, including one on street medicine and aiding the homeless, I learned that understanding the background of your patient is the most important part of an appointment and producing satisfactory results. Another topic that was eye opening was the art we examined and the video we watched on the artist Firelei Báez.

Even though I’ve had art classes and studied famous Hispanic artists such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, I have never thought much about how deep Hispanic art and culture really is. Learning about how deep their art goes and how blended the culture is with other ethnicities helped further my understanding in the common mistake of assuming the Hispanic culture as simple.When I signed up for Medical Spanish, I thought I would be constantly learning and memorizing words, but it is so much more. I looked past this class just as I wrongly looked past the culture it embodies.