The Spanish pathway program: Introducing, recruiting, and retaining Spanish-speaking students to the pharmacy profession

Background and purpose

Although 19% of the US population is Hispanic or Latino, less than 5 % of pharmacists identify as Hispanic. To increase patients' access to Spanish-speaking pharmacists, we created a Spanish Pathway Program. This program is adaptable to other colleges or schools of pharmacy with high Hispanic or Latino populations or for addressing disparities in other underrepresented groups.

Educational activity and setting

The program was designed with three objectives: 1) attracting Hispanic, Latino, and/or Spanish-speaking students to pharmacy careers, 2) recruiting and retaining Spanish-speaking pharmacy students to the program with leadership development, mentoring, education, and networking opportunities, and 3) preparing students to serve Hispanic and Latino communities through experiential rotations and health outreaches. Outcomes included student application and retention rates, graduate job placement, and clinical interventions made by program students on experiential rotations in Hispanic/Latino communities.

Findings

Over six years, the program has grown from two students on one campus to 20 students from two campuses. Program retention is 97% with three-fourths of graduates securing community pharmacy careers. Students report positive patient interactions because of their ability to communicate in Spanish.

Discussion

This program successfully increased the number of Spanish-speaking pharmacists by increasing the number of Spanish-speaking students in our pharmacy program and subsequent employment in practice. We refined the program by adding a medical Spanish certification course and student projects which aid the Hispanic and Latino community.

Summary

The Spanish Pathway Program established at Roseman University has had six years of success increasing the Spanish-speaking pharmacist workforce.