Doctor of Pharmacy - Concentration in Medical Spanish

Licensure

The goal of the Pharm.D Medical Spanish Concentration is to educate and develop students in the skills needed to provide evidence-based, person-centered care to Spanish-speaking patients that takes into account cultural and linguistic considerations. Graduates with a Doctor of Pharmacy with a Medical Spanish concentration will be able to: (1) provide high-quality patient care using Spanish, utilizing verbal and written communication, (2) engage Spanish-speaking patients in their healthcare, and (3) include cultural considerations in the care of Spanish-speaking patients.

Program Description

This concentration leads to obtaining a Medical Spanish Concentration upon completion of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

The Medical Spanish Concentration in the Doctor of Pharmacy program will include 3 didactic courses, 1 advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) in a facility with predominantly Spanish-speaking patients, and 1 medical missions immersion experience or service-learning opportunity (total of 13 credit hours).

• Medical Spanish in Pharmacy I – 3 Credit Hours
• Medical Spanish in Pharmacy II – 3 Credit Hours
• Cultural Considerations in the Care of Spanish-Speaking Patients – 1 Credit Hour
• Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE)* – 6 Credit Hours

• Plus, a medical missions immersion experience or service learning opportunity*

The courses/experiences that are starred must be completed in approved pharmacy settings that have predominantly Spanish-speaking patients. This curriculum includes 3 additional courses outside of the PharmD curriculum (Medical Spanish 1 & 2 and Cultural Considerations in the Care of Spanish-Speaking Patients).

Medical Spanish 1 or 2 may satisfy the Doctor of Pharmacy elective requirement if taken while enrolled at the Gregory School of Pharmacy.

Application Requirements

Students are eligible to apply for this concentration as follows:

• After completion of one full didactic year(i.e., enrolled in all of the required courses) in pharmacy school.
• Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5.
• Demonstrate minimal threshold of Spanish language proficiency via self-assessments and an oral proficiency interview, if applicable.

If the student is not a native Spanish speaker, he/she is encouraged to have taken at least one college level Spanish course or 3 years of high school level Spanish before enrolling in this concentration. All students will be required to take a baseline assessment to determine proficiency. Upon meeting the minimum threshold, the student is able to commence courses in the Medical Spanish curriculum at their own pace, noting that the didactic courses must be completed prior to the commencement of the fourth year and the completion of the medical missions/service-learning opportunity. Of note, the Medical Missions APPE can fulfill the medical missions/service-learning requirement but cannot also count towards completion of the APPE requirement of this concentration.