SPAN 3050

Profesora Opere is very passionate about healthcare discrepancies within the Latinx communities, and that is mostly what this course is about. While there was still vocabulary about anatomy, healthcare terms, etc., they were very briefly mentioned in class. Don't get me wrong, this is a very interesting course and very important for anyone going into healthcare, but just know what you are getting into. Also, this class is a much larger workload than I was expecting. The entire second half of the semester we had an exam or some sort of project due every single week. It actually became aggravating to me how much work we had, especially on top of my pre-med classes. The homework isn't bad but just time consuming, and the exams are also pretty easy as long as you have the time to actually put in time to study for them (which is hard because there is so many of them). Overall this class was interesting and will definitely serve me well in healthcare, but DO NOT think this class will be breeze because it is far more work than you would think. Just be prepared to have more exams and projects in this class than your pre-med classes (seriously, its actually a different project/assignment every week).

Prof Lopez Opere genuinely runs a fantastic class!! I'm a Spanish double major on the pre-health track, but I genuinely think what you learn in this class is helpful for any person going into any profession. The work is very manageable, and the work given is interesting and applies your knowledge in various ways. I love her teaching style because it is interesting but also sets up students for success, which I feel is one of the most important parts of a class. Earlier in the year I had a lot going on and asked for a couple extensions, and she was very understanding and allowed me to make it up so I could properly complete the assignments. Overall, I think any level of Spanish would work great with this class!!

This is a great course! Alicia is a great professor (had her for 3010 as well) and she did an amazing job despite the challenges of being totally online this semester. I really appreciated how organized and smooth the class was. Course content is about half anatomical/medical vocabulary and half public health/cultural competence/disease-specific information. We had 2 guest speakers, one a doctor from UVA and a professional interpreter, which was super interesting. Homework is mostly readings + a few comprehension questions, and we would spend the class discussing in small groups and as a large group as well. There's 3 oral presentations (2 individual, 1 with a partner), which I appreciated because I felt like I could improve throughout the semester. Not a high-stress/high-volume course like some of the lower level SPAN courses, and I would recommend to anyone pre-health who wants to practice Spanish.

Alicia is very caring and helps her students in any way she can. She starts off each class with meditation which relaxes you and prepares you for the class. You learn basic anatomy in Spanish as well as analyze the health of Spanish speaking communities in the U.S. You have three exams, each of which she gives you a study guide which prepares you greatly for the exam. I highly recommend taking this class if you're pre-med because you analyze the healthcare field and also get to learn how to communicate to patients in Spanish. Alicia is great!

One of the easiest classes at UVA. She gives you a study guide with possible short answer questions that will be on the test, so I just wrote out my responses to those the day before and basically regurgitated what the lecture slides. Decent amount of anatomy on the tests but she uses the exact figures from lecture so memorize those and the short answer questions and you're guaranteed a 95. She makes you do a skit of a doctor-patient scenario with a partner so that blows.

Professor Opere has high expectations for your learning in this course, but does a good job in providing the necessary materials to learn the content well. You will spend a good amount of time learning anatomical terms throughout the semester, as well as other relevant medical terminology. During the course there are examinations of health care systems in Spanish speaking countries and comparisons with the US health care system. The course generally follows well-contained units about topics such as medical procedures, specialists, health concerns for Latinos, and cultural aspects of health care, including traditional healing practices. The final project is an examination of a particular aspect of a Spanish-speaking country's health care system. If you put in the effort, you can learn a lot and do well in the course.