Course Syllabus (PRDV)

Learn the basics of the healthcare system and relevant terminology, etiquette, and laws in this ESL course designed for learners at the Proficient (C1) level who want to pursue a career in the healthcare industry in the United States.

Congratulations on your decision to pursue a career in healthcare! Working in this field can be challenging, but also intensely rewarding. By the end of this course, you will become familiar with specific vocabulary used in a healthcare setting, through a variety of techniques to develop your mastery of English in healthcare. At the beginning of the course, you will be introduced to healthcare systems, their structure, and the types of patients and patient care that are offered. In Unit 2, you will be introduced to the healthcare professionals who work in the healthcare system and their roles and responsibilities in patient care. You will be introduced to basic human anatomy in Unit 3, which highlights the major organs and systems in the body and explains how they work together to keep us healthy. Unit 4 will further your understanding of the language used in healthcare by introducing you to medical terminology and providing ways to start making sense of specialized medical terms. In Unit 5, you will learn about etiquette, professionalism, and how to effectively and respectfully communicate with your peers and patients through your words and actions. As you near the end of the course, you will learn the importance of ethics in a healthcare setting and be introduced to medical laws like HIPAA, which was created to protect patients' safety and privacy, and the consequences of healthcare professionals failing to comply with medical laws. While this course aims to cover the basics, any one of these topics could fill a whole course by itself. Please keep in mind that there is much more to these complex and interconnected systems than can be covered here, and know that there is always more to learn; continuing education is an important part of the healthcare field.

This course includes the following units:

• Unit 1: The Healthcare System
• Unit 2: Healthcare Providers and Their Roles
• Unit 3: Basic Human Anatomy
• Unit 4: Basic Medical Terminology
• Unit 5: Medical Office Etiquette and Communication
• Unit 6: Medical Ethics and Privacy Laws

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Use reading and writing within the context of medicine
• Describe the structure, purpose, and function of healthcare systems
• Distinguish between different types of healthcare providers and their roles
• Explain the basics of human anatomy and list the systems that make up the human body
• Explain basic medical terminology
• Define healthcare-related written tasks
• Explain the basics of medical office etiquette
• Explain the importance of medical ethics, medical law, privacy, and HIPAA

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.

Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.

Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.

Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.

You can see this assessment at this link.

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 1.0 CEUs.

ESL006: English as a Second Language in Healthcare is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 10 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

• Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
• Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.