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

Abstract

Objective: To assess the impact of incorporating Spanish language lectures and activities in a required Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory course on first-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students' perceptions of and comfort level with Spanish-speaking patients and basic knowledge of Spanish pharmacy terms.

Design: The 6-week module consisted of attendance at a 1-hour lecture on medical Spanish and Hispanic culture, and completion of 4 small-group activities: drug and product information, patient information, counseling and side effects, and a written scenario that involved filling a prescription for and counseling a Spanish-speaking patient.

Assessment: All students enrolled in the Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory course in fall 2008 (153) and fall 2009 (152) completed a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire (100% response rate). Less than 4% of students considered themselves fluent in Spanish prior to participating in the Spanish language module. Students agreed or strongly agreed that it was important for pharmacists to be able to translate common pharmacy label instructions from English to Spanish (89.8%) and Spanish to English (73.8%). Student-reported confidence in their ability to pronounce common pharmacy and medical terms in Spanish significantly increased, as did their ability to correctly interpret pharmacy label instructions.

Conclusions: While incorporation of a Spanish language module in a first-year Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory course did not result in students achieving fluency in Spanish, it was a beneficial method of exposing students to Spanish language and culture.

Keywords: Spanish; cultural competency; pharmaceutical care laboratory.