Medical Spanish Frequently Asked Questions
2.What's the schedule? How is it set up? Will I have time to explore?
3. What is the cost? How does it break down? What about guests? Is my license covered with these hours?
5. What are the accommodations?
9. How do I get to Costa Rica? How to I get to the event
This relaxing, low stress eight day seminar, traveling throughout tropical Costa Rica, is designed to prepare all levels of health care providers with basic and useful communication tools to assess, treat and teach your Spanish speaking clients. We will cover vitals & assessments, body parts & systems, associated symptoms, diseases, tests and treatments. The focus will be on basic communication skills, rather than on memorizing lists of words. We will learn how to listen to similarities and connections in terms & syntax, ask questions, listen for responses and ask clients to move, turn, deep breathe and participate in examination & treatment.
How is it set up?
Will I have time to explore?
The course itself is 20 hours spread out over eight days, with plenty of free time to relax, enjoy the various resort facilities and explore the natural beauty of the areas. The class itself is from Sunday to Sunday. The class begins at the world famous Arenal Volcano, abundant in beauty and culture! After two nights here learning, exploring and enjoying the lush tropical environment of the Arenal area we head off to the state of Guanacaste for three nights at an intimate Costa Rican hot springs resort. This delightful place only has 12 rooms, and we will fill the place. We have 24 hour access to the hot pools, water slide, and steam sauna at this resort, and the food is fresh and delicious here also! This resort is always a favorite with the students for its beauty, intimacy and charm. While at the hot springs resort, we can organize an optional day trip to the high mountain Rain Forest for horse back riding or hiking or a tour of a local artist's studio. The high rainforest is a great place to see toucans!
Next we have two nights and Playa Grande, a wonderfully diverse area with famous surf, a rare multi-species mangrove forest, beautiful beaches, sea turtles, tide pools & snorkeling and the nearby nightlife of Tamarindo. Costa Rica is a very progressive country, and gambling and the like are legal. Tamarindo, beautiful on the beach, has the tendency to make Las Vegas look less sinful!
The class itself is set up for more class time on some days, and others less, to facilitate general relaxation and exploration. Immersion activities are interspersed with class power point learning sessions and active immersion & practice sessions, making each day new and interesting. At least one class session involves a trip to the local pharmacy and grocery to examine products and terminology. The health care delivery system of Costa Rica is socialized medicine with private health care available for a fee; it is quite interesting to see what types of medicines are available from the pharmacist without any prescriptions.
How does it break down?
What about guests?
Is my license covered with these hours?
PLEASE PUT PHOTO 167 HERE The course fee is $479.00; this fee includes the course itself, a 20 continuing education contact hour certificate -- certified by the California Board of Registered Nursing CEP # 15387, and a Medical Spanish reference text that is yours to keep forever. California board of Registered Nursing CEU's are accepted by most boards of practice, RT's, PT's, LAc's, CMT's, and CNA's. The class is also certified by California EMS provider for EMT's and Paramedics. The rule of thumb on whether your board will accept these hours is generally," Is this content relevant to the licensee's practice?" Remember, you can get a 10% discount on this course fee by completing registration two months before the course begins or a 5% discount by registering with 3 or more people together by one month before the course begins.
The location fee includes: local transportation during class dates, shared room nights of Sunday to Saturday, and meals from dinner Sunday to Breakfast Sunday. The meals include non-alcoholic beverages, however you are welcome to purchase cocktails at your own expense. In the past other students have purchased outside beverages and drank them in their rooms & at the pools, and after the restaurant/bar's have closed. No one has died of thirst in our group class tours to date!
The location fee is $1199 per adult, with child discounts available. You are welcome to bring a non participating guest and they need only pay the location fee, not the class fee. The class officially ends on Sunday in Playa Grande.
Although we are not providing you with transportation to or from the class start & end locations, we will be happy to guide or assist you in arranging airport transportation or extensions of your visit -- just ask.
4 . Any special discounts?
Yes, if you complete registration and pay if full by two months before the class start you can take a 10% discount off course fee, as indicated on the registration form.
If you complete registration in the same envelope or on the same digital day as three or more of your friends, you each can take 5% off the course fee, if completed by one month before the class start.5. What are the accommodations?
The lodging at Arenal depends on how many people enroll. We will stay either in a private Villa in the center of the National Park, or a Hotel, both with amazing views of the volcano (weather permitting). The food, gardens, pools, trails and nature are beautiful and abundant here. There are also many adventure excursions available such as white water rafting, zip lining, horse back riding, or just get a fantastic massage!
The hot springs resort has 12 cabinas, with various numbers and arrangements of beds. Each has large windows with screens & louvers, ceiling fans, and a large covered deck with a bench for Nature & Wildlife viewing. Guests of the hotel have 24 hour access to the pools and facilities. The restaurant is on site, and has fantastic food and wait staff -- who have come to love our groups over the years, giving us plenty of Spanish practice!
Nearby is another hot springs resort with a spa offering 25 dollar one hour massages, volcanic mud rub downs, and other very reasonably prices spa services. There is also an amazing sculptor, Tony Jiminez, with a near by studio, and his work is impressive. He just had a show at Costa Rica's National gallery, and his work is also on display at the San Juan Samarta ( San Jose's) International airport. The country town of Guayabo near the hot springs also boasts the best rice pudding, and has an amazing furniture maker's studio as well. Last trip some of the students took advantage of the highly skilled, reasonably priced, English speaking dentist located here as well.
Also located near the hot springs resort and Guayabo are very reasonably priced zip line tours, and a volcano caldera tour with hot mud immersion and a three football field length water slide that you have to wear a helmet & inner tube for! This slide literally flushes you down a long cement track through the jungle, ending in a deep pool of cool, refreshing water. There are plenty of activities for the non - participating guest to enjoy while the students learn & practice Spanish.
The lodging at Playa Grande is a lovely hotel on the beach itself. This hotel is largely responsible for the National Park Los Baulas, the leatherback turtle nesting area. November to February is the nesting season, and if you choose you can sign up and try your luck at seeing one of these amazing ancient animals lay eggs. It is an experience that brings goose bumps it is so amazing. There plenty of other sea turtle species in Playa Grande, also a rare multi-species mangrove forest, world famous surfing, and the big city and night life of Tamarindo is just minutes away on the other side of the bay.
The food is simple, fresh and delicious in Costa Rica; we have stayed in these hotels and eaten there many times. We tend to drink fresh "squeezed" juices with every meal (watermelon, mango, banana, pineapple, blackberry, etc). There is no concern with drinking the water or swimming in the pools and hot tubs while at the places we stay, Costa Rica has excellent sanitation standards. While teaching Public Health at an Acupuncture University I learned that Costa Rica actually has higher public health outcomes than the USA (in the main 12 indicators, such as life expectancy and maternal child health.)
The food on the optional day trip to the Rainforest has been voted the best in Costa Rica by all my friends, both Tico and visitors. The food is grown on the surrounding farm, including the milk, homemade cheese and very yummy corn tortillas about ½ inch thick! The name of the hotel is Santa Maria Volcano Lodge in Colonia Blanca Costa Rica-- this is about an hour from the Liberia International Airport (LIR is the airport code)6. What is the weather like? Most of the time it will be a warm and humid for most of us, the hot springs area tends to be a little cooler as it is in the mountains and it is not as hot as it is near the ocean. It is a tropical rainforest, so be prepared for an occasional shower. The rain is warm, and I have found that light clothes that dry quickly are best. When I hike in my waterproof windbreaker I find that the sweat and heat of it is more irritating then that of getting a little wet from the rain. I like light weight easy dry long sleeve shirts, boots and umbrellas. Sometimes at night it cools down, so some fleece clothes that are warm wet or dry and dry quick might be nice to bring along.
7. What do I need to bring? Bring a relaxed attitude leave the stress from work and home behind. Bring light easy to dry clothes and remember that part of the retreat is in a rain forest, so come prepared with waterproof shoes and an umbrella. Bring your bathing suit ( or two), waterproof sunscreen and sun hat. It is easy to buy an extra lightweight( quick dry) towels in Costa Rica. It can get cool at night, even in the tropics at these elevations so pack a light fleece, rain coats are a overkill as it is too hot and you get just as wet inside ( we like umbrellas).
Bring all prescriptions medicines you need. waterproof shoes, sandals, clothes, umbrellas, hat, sun glasses, sun screen, bug spray and flashlight. Now you can shop and get all these things in Costa Rica, but remember to leave your self time to do so.
You may want to bring field glasses, cameras, bird watching needs, and a small note pad. The hot springs resort and the beach resort both have wireless networks, so some students have bought lap tops and communication devices with them.
Please bring the Spanish text we send you upon completion of registration, any pens and note pads you might want as well. Please bring an open and willing mind, ready to practice Spanish and have a great time. We will have some simulated physical exams, real life pharmacy trip and some fun learning surprises as well.8. How do I register?
Registration is available multiple ways, you can fill out the registration form available on deepahealth.com ( and pay via credit card or pay pal), or download a PDF version and simply return your completed form, along with a money order for the course fee & location fees - (don't forget to apply your early registration discounts!), via snail mail to Susan Gleason, 105 East Calaveras Street, Altadena, CA 91001. We will send you a confirmation receipt, more information and your text.
Please call if you have any questions or need assistance with any of these processes; you can call Neal at 831-345-0346 or Deepa at 831-234-5791.
9. How do I get to Costa Rica?
How to I get to the event?
How do I get to Costa Rica?
How to I get to the event?
The class is in some of the loveliest and "mellowest" parts of Costa Rica. Where as the Ticos (Costa Ricans) would say it's "muy tranquillo" these spots have been chosen for their beauty and relaxing nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trail.
The closest airport is Liberia, the capital city of the Province of Guanacaste, and it's International Airport code is LIR. Round trip flights from Los Angeles to Liberia range from 300 to 700 dollars, depending on the time of year.
San Jose is about 3-4 hours away from the class sites, and we can help provide you with transportation arrangements. If you wish to rent a car, we can provide instructions on driving to the class site
There are infinite combinations of local planes, taxis, busses, hired transport vans, and rental cars to get you around. You might want to arrive early or stay late to explore the Caribbean and wild Osa parts of Costa Rica, and we will happily make recommendations or contacts for you.
Pura Vida! ( Pure Life, as the Tico's say = used like Aloha)
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