1202 W. Thomas Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85013
602–285–7500

Today, the healthcare industry is the second largest industry in the United States and as the demand for healthcare workers continues to increase, the Phoenix College Allied Health and Nursing departments have collaborated to address this important trend.

In 2001, these departments joined forces to create a program that would benefit students who speak English as their second language and who wish to pursue a career in the healthcare industry. As their vision developed, the ESL Healthcare Education Program was born.

As our population and the healthcare industry grow, so does the need for qualified healthcare workers. In addition, studies reveal that patients who speak little English tend to face a much greater risk of misdiagnosis and medical error. This language barrier can prove to be extremely dangerous if not addressed.

Phoenix College thrives on its diverse population and currently has students representing 102 countries. Many of these students have worked in healthcare settings in their native country or are now interested in pursuing a healthcare career in the United States.

The ESL Healthcare Education Program was designed to provide the support necessary for Phoenix College students who speak English as a second language to succeed in their studies and become competent members of the healthcare workforce. This in return will help meet the workforce demand and lessen the language barrier that many patients face today.

This program supports students by offering special sections of Healthcare Core (HCC) classes, which allow ESL students an opportunity to begin their study of healthcare careers earlier in their education. Traditionally, ESL students had to complete the entire ESL program prior to beginning a degree or certificate program. However, this program allows advanced ESL students to enroll in HCC classes while continuing their study of English. HCC classes include Fundamentals of Healthcare Delivery and Medical Terminology.

"Participation in ESL HCC courses provide an immersion approach to the language of health care in addition to the art, science and technology of health care delivery in the United States," said Julie Stiak, Phoenix College HCC coordinator and instructor.

As a community partner, Banner Health Arizona, also provides support for the students. Each student enrolled during the Spring 2002 semester participated in an orientation and tours of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. They also completed nine hours of observation in different areas of the hospital.

"The observation component of this program gives ESL students early exposure to the healthcare industry that they traditionally don’t have," said Shannon McGrath, Coordinator of the ESL Healthcare Education Program. "It is anticipated that this will accelerate the transition from student to healthcare worker."

The program also provides materials and resources for the students. To help decrease students’ financial burden, textbooks for the HCC classes are loaned to all students in the ESL sections. In addition, computer software is available to reinforce concepts covered in these classes.

"ESL students have abilities and experience that make them unique and valuable members of the college, community and workforce," added McGrath. "This program creates opportunities for their success. We’ve learned that they are a gold mine of untapped potential."

The first group of 24 students enrolled in the program represented eight countries including Afghanistan, Croatia, Cuba, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Japan, Mexico and Somalia. Twenty-one of these students are bilingual and three are multilingual, speaking three to five languages. As students from this group move on to degree or certificate programs, this program shows exciting promise for the future of healthcare in Arizona.

"This is a great program because many of the students already have degrees from their native country; however, they must go through the educational process in order for their degrees to be recognized here," said Adele James, instructor. "This program not only unites people from around the world, it also helps our staff appreciate students of all cultures. This program is especially rewarding to me because these students take their education very seriously and are also very committed. They are glad to be here and don’t take their education for granted."

After completing the HCC courses, ESL students can pursue one of the following programs offered at Phoenix College:

Dental Assisting
Dental Hygiene
Health Information
Health Information Technology
Medical Assisting
Medical Billing
Medical Coding
Nurse Assisting
Nursing
Patient Care Technician
Phlebotomy
Therapeutic Massage

For more information regarding this program, please call (602) 285-7735.