Dr. Shana Drake-Lavelle: No Interpretation Needed

The relationship between doctor and patient is often delicate. When the doctor and patient speak two different languages, the relationship can be even more delicate and ripe for misunderstanding. Unless, of course, the doctor is bilingual and can communicate fluently with the patient, using non medical terminology the patient can understand. Dr. Shana Drake-Lavelle became bilingual in the 1990s by virtue of a nascent, elementary, dual-language program in New Mexico. She says the dual-language program contributed to the decision to choose a career in medicine, where many of her patients speak Spanish. Her dual-language experience was also instrumental in meeting her husband, a first generation Mexican-American physician, whom she met while engaged in volunteer work involving Albuquerque's Spanish-speaking population, and with whom she is raising a bilingual son. Join us as Dr. Drake-Lavelle leads us through her journey from dual-language student in the Albuquerque Public Schools, to the College of William and Mary in Virginia, to the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and finally to her current role as a family medicine practitioner. When she's not practicing medicine or raising her son, she plays the harp in the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Symphony and with the Symphony Orchestra of Albuquerque. We also discuss one-way and two-way dual-language immersion programs.