Development and evaluation of an intermediate-level elective course on medical Spanish for pharmacy students

The Spanish-speaking population in the United States is increasing rapidly, and there is a need for additional educational efforts, beyond teaching basic medical Spanish terminology, to increase the number of Spanish-speaking pharmacists able to provide culturally appropriate care to this patient population. This article describes the development and evaluation of an intermediate-level elective course where students integrated pharmacy practice skills with Spanish-language skills and cultural competency. Educational Activity and Setting: Medical Spanish for Pharmacists was developed as a two-credit elective course for pharmacy students in their third-professional-year who possessed a certain level of Spanish language competence. The course was designed so that students would combine patient care skills such as obtaining a medication list and providing patient education, and pharmacotherapy knowledge previously learned in the curriculum, along with Spanish-language skills, and apply them to simulated Spanish-speaking patients. Elements to promote cultural competency were integrated throughout the course through a variety of methods, including a service learning activity.

Successful attainment of course goals and objectives were demonstrated through quizzes, assignments, examinations, and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Based on these course assessments, students performed well during both offerings of the course.

While the class cohort size was small in the two offerings of the course, the Medical Spanish for Pharmacists elective may still serve as an example for other pharmacy programs as an innovative approach in combining Spanish language, specific pharmacy skills, cultural competency, and service learning.