Teaching Spanish using the pharmacists' patient care process

The Hispanic population of the United States now comprises the largest minority and is expected to increase. Student pharmacists must be prepared to care for this segment of the population. Efforts to learn medical Spanish will assist in these endeavors.

This paper describes the design and implementation of a novel course teaching Spanish for student pharmacists using the framework of the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP). A two-credit hour elective course was developed to provide a focused course on practical Spanish used in the pharmaceutical care space. Lessons were framed with the various steps in the PPCP of collect, assess, plan, implement, and follow-up.

Interest in the course was high, with first through third professional year cohorts and varying Spanish experience represented. Student feedback from self-reflections and course evaluations revealed the course was helpful in increasing ability to work with patients of differing cultural backgrounds and in medical Spanish skill in pharmaceutical care.

Pharmacy programs can utilize the PPCP as an instructional method to increase offerings of medical Spanish in their curriculum with modest resource utilization.