Pharmacists play a unique role in the health care system by acting as easily accessible resources for patients. However, with the growing prevalence of Spanish-speaking patients in the United States, the language barrier is becoming an increasingly common obstacle to providing care. In Pittsburgh alone, an increasing number of Spanish-, Kiswahili-, and Bhutanese-speaking populations lack adequate health care because of this language barrier. Bilingual pharmacists are critical in reducing this obstacle by providing care to these diverse communities, given that they are readily available health care providers. With conversational knowledge in medical Spanish, pharmacists can begin to expand their patient base, and their skills can be better used by patients. Starting with the student population, the introduction of the medical Spanish micro-credential will add to their skill set as future pharmacists and encourage inclusivity and diversity.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy (PittPharmacy) has an area of concentration (ARCO) in global health, which encourages students to pursue creative avenues to increase inclusivity and awareness about all patient populations, locally and globally. Roshni Pattabiraman and Aarti Zaver, part of this Global Health ARCO at PittPharmacy, began to develop a micro-credential for medical Spanish that is based on both didactic and experiential learning. With this introduction to Spanish, the goal is for student pharmacists to more easily embrace multiculturalism and gain access to previously difficult-to-reach patient populations.

To create this micro-credential, Pattabiraman and Zaver gathered initial information through data collection and literature review of research papers regarding micro-credentials or Spanish immersion programs at other health science universities. A student interest survey was designed and deployed to gauge interest in learning medical Spanish among the current student pharmacists at PittPharmacy, which showed an overwhelming response to pursue this micro-credential. Results of this survey indicate the desire of student pharmacists to extend their services to a variety of populations.

Consistent meetings with faculty at the University of Pittsburgh were scheduled to help develop and execute the micro-credential, which focuses on immersive experiences bolstered by didactic online learning. Student pharmacists will be given the opportunity to practice and refine their Spanish communication skills by providing their unique services to Spanish-speaking patients at local community centers and clinics, including the Birmingham Free Clinic and the Squirrel Hill Health Center. At the end of their pharmacy training, students will emerge as bilingual health care professionals who fulfill unique and vital roles within Spanish-speaking communities. These pharmacists will be able to efficiently communicate their recommendations to these patients as well as understand the cultural differences and adapt their recommendations to the patient and the patient’s beliefs.

The overall goal of the micro-credential is to understand the impact of a patient’s background on the patient’s medication practices. From lifestyle to diet, a patient’s culture and individuality can greatly affect the patient’s beliefs surrounding medicine. The responsibility and capacity to care for all patients, regardless of barriers, is a unique but indispensable aspect of the field. By overcoming the language barrier, pharmacists will be able to improve communication and understand their patients’ specific needs and be better equipped to aid them using a tailored approach.

The Medical Spanish Micro-Credential will continue to be developed at PittPharmacy. This medical Spanish program will lay the groundwork for students to pursue micro-credentials for other languages as well. Ideally, other health professional schools will be able to adapt this program to provide the same resources for their students to expand their outreach and accessibility. In addition, this micro-credential will be applicable to any pharmacy school and can be adapted to the most prevalent languages in any given area of the United States.