Course Code: SSP141, Units: 3, This course is Spanish for specific purposes for the health area. Its objective is to give health personnel, who have no prior knowledge of the Spanish language, the necessary tools to interact and interview a Spanish-speaking patient. During the four weeks, the student will acquire knowledge in the four linguistic skills, which will allow him or her to communicate in basic form with native speakers of Spanish. This course answers the question: How to get the student to make the necessary questions to a Spanish-speaking patient to complete the identification card in the medical file? For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Spanish Language & Literature.

Course Code: SSP241, Units 3, This course is of Spanish for specific purposes, designed for health personnel, who have taken a minimum of 100 hours of Spanish as a second language, in order to deepen knowledge of medical Spanish and improve communicative competence in specific situations with Spanish-speaking patients. This course answers the question: How to get the student to make a medical consultation to a simulated Spanish-speaking patient to complete the medical file? For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Spanish Language & Literature.

Course Code: HHD3070, Units: 3, Health service delivery today encounters frequent conflicts, disputes, and other difficult situations, many of them derived from larger changes occurring in the health systems of the world. These conflicts include differences due to multiculturalism; the appropriateness and quality of care; gender issues; power disputes and providers and recipients over institutional and funding policies. Violence, its effects and costs will be part of this course, particularly under the WHO definition and perspectives about violence in the world in general, and violence in Costa Rica in particular. The inter-institutional or meta-leadership carried out in San Carlos in the form of culture of peace is an important part of this course. In September 2013 they celebrated their 10th Festival of Culture of Peace in this area. This interactive, hands-on course offers a framework to integrate professional experience with functional communication and mediation skills. Students are encouraged to explore and develop their leadership into progress on matters of public health importance. Mandatory fieldwork sessions at a hospital, clinic, community or school end this challenging experienc For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Global Health, Health Administration, International Health, Nursing, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Nursing, Pre-Physical Therapy, Public Health.

Course Code: HIS3293, Units: 3, Costa Rica´s health care system is unique due to the fact that it´s socialized and has achieved excellent health indicators. The course focuses on the history and development of the public health care system within the context of the Costa Rican sociopolitical and economical situation. It also gives a strong emphasis on how the system actually works and points out not only the strongholds of the systems, but also it´s weak points. A third objective, of fundamental importance in order to understand this system, is the study of Costa Rica as a tropical country. Students will learn about the prevention and transmission of relevant tropical diseases. For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Environmental Sustainability, Health and Exercise Science, Health Science, Nutrition and Food Science.

Course Code: HHD1020, Units: 3, Physical therapy ranks in Costa Rica and the USA as one of the most desirable careers. Physical Therapists play essential roles in today’s health care environment. They contribute along with all health care providers to maintain, restore, and improve movement, activity and health, enabling individuals of all ages to have optimal functioning and quality of life. During this course the student will learn history of Physical Therapy, PT core values and principles, mechanical principles applied to human body, an introduction to exercise therapy, massage therapy and physical therapists approach after a stroke. For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Kinesiology, Pre-Physical Therapy, Sport and Leisure Sciences.

Course Code: HHD1070, Units: 3, This course introduces people on human nutrition, integrating basic concepts of sustainabilityscience with the study of human nutrition. No college-level science background is required; rather, the course will provide elementary aspects of the several socio-biological sciences that are needed. Its main aim is to provide a nutrition background that will help students make appropriate, informed choices from the vast array of foods available in today’s marketplace. This course is designed for the person who wants an introduction to nutrition and, who may later choose a major in it, or simply wants to improve his/her health and wellbeing, specially taking into account the impact that each one of us is making on Earth. Through this course each student will have a better overview of what nutrients are and what nutrients and foods do for humans; how healthy people can best get the amounts of nutrients and foods they need throughout their lifetime; how people –mainly in current times- alter foods and their nutrient content; and food and sustainability issues of current interest. This is one of the main courses of the CIPSS´s Health and Psychology area, its nature is theoretical and participative, and it seeks to clarify the following question: How to apply knowledge on nutrition for optimal health, while fostering sustainability? For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Environmental Sustainability, Health and Exercise Science, Health Science, Nutrition and Food Science.

Course Code: HHD1100, Units: 3, This course focuses on knowing and recognizing the basic biology, identification, classification, impact, and management, of insects that represent hazards to human health. To date, mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals around the world, with more deaths caused by mosquito-vectored diseases than from the attack of any wild animal. In the past several methods have been used to control the outbreaks of these insects, specially pesticide-based which in turn just aggravated the problem because of insecticide resistance. The tropics have been particularly affected by insects with human health impacts. For this reason, several private and public initiatives focus on developing ways to palliate these insects. This course will cover basic and applied aspects of Medical Entomology, with an especial focus on the ecological and socio-economic conditions of the tropics. This course will be based on field trips, talks, the study of multimedia, literature, visits and practical contact with people working on these subjects. Therefore, this course is aimed at any student with an interest in human health, biology, economics, sustainability, and anthropology. For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Biology, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Global Health, Health Science.

Course Code: INT100, Units: 2, An integrative cross-cultural experience designed to help the student understand and form his or her Christian worldview, cross-cultural engagement, and understanding of diverse social and cultural contexts. A 1-hour per week course requires the attendance of all students. The goal and emphasis of this course are to provide students with a set of tools to utilize in interacting with people in work, community, or educational settings. Community development interventions in this course are understood as activities to facilitate, strengthen, and improve less-advantaged communities, empower residents to define and participate in the development process, and interact in larger social, political, and economic systems on behalf of the community. As part of this course, all students complete a local internship. This course can be taken for one or three credits. Students may request to take the course for more units if needed but must receive approval from L&LI. Subject Areas: Community Development, Internships, Service-Learning

Course Code: HSC380E, Units: 3, This course describes and contrasts systems and models of health policies worldwide. Students will gain insights from political, economic and cultural perspectives. For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Health Science.

Course Code: HSC250E, Units: 3, Studying nutrition from the anthropological perspective provides a comprehensive framework used to compare differences in the field of food and nutrition. Why does one eat what they eat in certain places and why is it cooked the way it is? After this introduction, the course progresses to the Mediterranean diet with attention to tradition, ingredients, preparation, and presentation techniques in various cuisines. The course examines the evolution of eating habits, the nutrients that must be present in healthy and balanced food, nutritional diseases in the past and the present, food security, education initiatives and awareness in the field of food, and the impact on the public health system. Students in this course have the opportunity to carry out research. Students will be encouraged to submit their research for digital publication in a professional journal of international scope. Students will gain insights from political, economic and cultural perspectives. For a longer course description, click here. Subject Areas: Nutrition and Food Science.