For pre-med students like Chelsea Foong, this is not the first Spanish class they’ve taken. It is, however, the first Spanish course taken with a special emphasis on medical terminology.

A growing number of Baylor University students, looking to work in the health care profession, are taking the medical Spanish class to better serve the changing population.

According to the latest census, the Hispanic population grew by more than 40 percent in the last 10 years in Texas. U.S. Census figures show the Hispanic population grew four times faster than the total U.S. population.

Baylor added an additional section of the intermediate course this semester to help meet the increased demand.

Assistant Spanish Professor Karol Hardin teaches one section of the course.

"I hope they're able to improve their speaking ability, at least within the domain of the medical context," Hardin said.

After shadowing many physicians, Foong said she knows the importance of being able to effectively communicate with patients.

"If you can't communicate with a patient, even if you're the best doctor in the world, there's nothing you can do," she said.

If students continue to build on their Spanish-speaking skills, Hardin believes it could help them build a more direct relationship with their patients.

"Anyone that has done any interpreting knows it can be all over the place. It can be from a paraphrase to a real literal translation. Just important things can get left out," she said.

The class is not solely based on memorizing medical terms.

"[The goal is] to understand the background issues with culture that really are important, that can cause a lot more offense than whether or not you use the right verb," she said.