Hispanic Healthcare Certificate

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Approves Awarding of Certificate in Hispanic Healthcare to UHCOP Pharm.D. Students

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved UH College of Pharmacy's Hispanic Healthcare Certificate Program, which is designed to recognize UH Pharm.D. students' competencies in delivering linguistically and culturally appropriate pharmacy services in Spanish-speaking, Hispanic patients.  

The program involves advanced instruction in Hispanic culture and Spanish language, with an emphasis on Medical Spanish, and the completion of at least two Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences at sites serving predominantly Spanish-speaking patients. The program is a partnership between the UHCOP and the Department of Hispanic Studies in the UH's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Four UHCOP students – now graduates – completed the program requirements during its pilot phase in 2013-2015, and nearly a dozen current Pharm.D. students have started or completed the didactic portion of the program as of Summer 2015.

"Thanks to the great diversity across the Greater Houston area and within our college itself, all of our students have abundant opportunities to learn about other cultures and languages," said UHCOP Dean F. Lamar Pritchard, Ph.D., R.Ph. "However, with our significant Hispanic and Spanish-speaking populations in Texas, this program is part of our commitment to ensure that providing outstanding, safe and effective patient care is not hampered by language and cultural barriers."