The Physician Oral Language Observation Matrix (POLOM) exam is a new tool developed by the National Association of Medical Spanish (NAMS). The exam will be available to medical students willing to formally evaluate their ability to use Spanish for communicating directly with patients and for getting certified. NAMS is also exploring the option to extend this exam to residents and practicing physicians in the future. 

Lecturer Paloma Moscardó Vallés took the training in May and went through the calibrations phase, rating a total of 22 videos where students are interacting with a Standardized Patient (an actor trained to be a patient). Now Moscardó Vallés is officially a POLOM rater, which means she can formally evaluate students' readiness to use Spanish for communicating directly with patients. She also now belongs to the first batch of Verified POLOM Raters along with a dozen other colleagues from around the country. Her Spanish class, SPA 205, has been greatly enhanced by this training, and she is looking forward to learning more in the future.