A Spanish language module in a first-year pharmaceutical care laboratory course

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Health Literacy
• Cultural Competency in Healthcare

Background:

• Growing Spanish-speaking populations necessitate improved pharmacist-patient communication.
• First-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students often lack confidence and basic Spanish skills for interacting with Hispanic patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of a Spanish language module on PharmD students' perceptions, comfort levels, and knowledge regarding Spanish-speaking patients and pharmacy terminology.
• To assess the impact of integrating medical Spanish and Hispanic culture into a required Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory course.

Main Methods:

• A 6-week module included lectures on medical Spanish and Hispanic culture, alongside small-group activities focused on drug information, patient counseling, and prescription scenarios.
• Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessed student perceptions and knowledge, with a 100% response rate from 305 students across two academic years.

Main Results:

• Prior to the module, less than 4% of students reported Spanish fluency.
• A significant majority (89.8%) found translating pharmacy instructions between English and Spanish important.
• Student confidence in pronouncing Spanish pharmacy terms and interpreting label instructions significantly increased.

Conclusions:

• The Spanish language module effectively increased student confidence and basic knowledge, despite not achieving fluency.
• Exposure to Spanish language and culture within a required pharmacy course is beneficial for preparing future pharmacists.