TRANSLATI G · TERMINOLOGY Graduate student Paola Quijano taught Spanish medical terminology to health professionals. P harmacy graduate student Paola Quijano, who was originally from Colombia, used her native language skills to teach medical terminology for her interprofessional education activity as part of her degree program. Quijano held a class for College of Pharmacy students called "Rx Spanish." It focused on Spanish words that were important in a pharmaceutical context. The class had more than 80 students and faculty in attendance. "Her project helps people become more able to communicate with Spanish speakers on a very basic health level," Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Experimental Education Director Dr. Jeanie Smith said. Her next class was a "lunch and learn" open to all areas of health sciences including nursing, physical therapy and speech pathology. Quijano then gave the same lesson to the ARcare clinic where many Spanish-speaking patients were present. Quijano also collaborated with ARcare clinics to translate HIV information booklets and questionnaires to Spanish as well as enhance ARcare's Spanish diabetes management patient booklet. "Whether you're a physical therapist, speech pathologist or n·urse, you should know how to say these things," Quijano said. Prior to the "lunch and learn," Quijano sent out a survey to,see what people wanted co know and created an interactive powerpoint based on their feedback. Quijano began by teaching simple ways a doctor could introduce themselves to a patient. She also gave out pharmacy-specific cards that had basic greetings, body parts and diseases translated into Spanish. "I received amazing feedback; I didn't know so many people felt the need to learn these terms," Quijano said. "It's a great skill for healthcare providers, but more importantly, the patient can feel more comfortable with their doctor and help them understand what's going on." Over the course of three years, Quijano performed many health screenings with Spanish-speaking patients and became more aware of the large health imbalance in chis population and the need for Spanish-speaking healthcare providers. "This has become my passion throughout pharmacy school," Quijano said. "My main goal for my project is Spanish education in an effort to decrease health disparities in Hispanic patient populations." These projects were for Quijano's completion of requirements for a month-long health and wellness experience through the College of Pharmacy. "For a global understanding of health care, students must conduct a cocurricular and interprofessional education activity," Dr. Debbie Waggoner, associate professor of pharmacy practice, said. According to Quijano, all of this was intended to empower healthcare providers with knowledge and tools so providers would be better equipped to care for their Spanish-speaking patients. Quijano shared her information with two second-year-pharmacy students with the hope that they would continue with these meetings for the rest of their time in pharmacy school. story by Kendra Christopher Pharmacy graduate student Paola Quijano performs a blood test on graduate student Megan Spence as part ofher pharmaceutical studies in the Swaid and Christy Swaid Centerfor Health Sciences on Nov. 13, 2018. Quijano collaborated with ARcare clinics to translate HIV booklets and to enhance Spanish questionnaires. I photo by Lindsey Webb 181 I GRADUATES Jedediah Burghout, phamacy Rachel Coursey, pharmacy Jessica McNair, pharmacy Sarah Steely, pharmacy Mallory Williams, pharmacy
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