Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Joining me today is Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera, Director of the Medical Spanish Program at California University of Science and Medicine. Thank you so much for being with us today.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
Thank you so much for inviting me. It's my pleasure.
Yvette Walker
What makes the Vida Spanish Program so unique and important in the medical field?
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
It's that it's the first medical Spanish program that is required for medical students here in California, and it's the second in the nation. That means that all the students that join CUSM, they need to go through these courses and learn how to communicate with their Spanish speaking patients.
Yvette Walker
And so I read a little bit about your background, and I saw that you are originally from Spain. So tell us what inspired you to make the move from Spain to the Inland Empire.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
I wanted to come to California because I really like the bilingual landscape that exists here in this state, and when I was a resident in Santa Barbara and then in Long Beach, I loved it, but I couldn't do much for my community. But here in this area, I feel like you don't only enjoy a beautiful landscape, but you can also make a lot for the community.
Yvette Walker
Tell us about the benefits for those considering attending or being a current student of the Vida Medical Spanish Program.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
Those who are interested in becoming physicians and serving this region, the Inland Empire region, if they attend CUSM, they will not only learn all the medical content that you know every medical students learns, but also they will learn Medical Spanish, which means they will learn clinical communication for Spanish speaking patients, and they will also learn about cultural nuances. They will also learn about how to communicate with them in critical situations, and that's something that they will not learn in other institutions.
Yvette Walker
So with that said, please speak to the statistics of Spanish speaking residents in the Inland Empire and beyond, and how that relates to the medical field today.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
So in San Bernardino County, we have over 55% of the total population who identifies as Latino or Hispanic. That's a lot. That's more than half of the population in the whole nation. We have almost 20% of the population who identifies as Hispanic or Latino. However, in the physicians workforce, we only have 6% of the whole body of physicians who identify as Hispanic or Latino. So there is a mismatch, especially in this area. Obviously, we cannot change the ethnicity of people, but we can help them connect with this population, speaking their language, knowing about their culture, etc.
Yvette Walker
What advice do you have for other learning institutions that are looking at this program and say, wow, this is tremendous. This is something we would like to duplicate or scale.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
So my recommendation would be to find individuals who are passionate about medical Spanish. This is a very eclectic field that encompasses public health, medicine and language, right? So a single person may not be sufficient. You need a team. So you need to have a budget for that and make sure that your students take advantage of their time, because, you know, medical students are always busy, so they need to have a very targeted program tailored to their needs to communicate with Spanish speaking patients.
Yvette Walker
Share with us some of the nuances in Spanish clinical communication with patients that is a uniquely learned skill through your program.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
When I say medical Spanish, some people assume students learn Spanish, but it's way beyond that. So they learn clinical communication with Spanish speaking patients. So that means, for example, we teach them how to communicate with Spanish speaking patients when they need to give them bad news, or, you know, when they have to communicate with an angry patient. So sometimes it's different from an English speaker versus a Spanish speaker. So they learn those cultural aspects that will help them not only gain trust, but also connect to a deeper level with their patients, right?
Yvette Walker
And obviously that must lead to better health outcomes as well. So tell us who is the Vida Medical Spanish Program open to.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
Everyone who joins CUSM will be part of our Medical Spanish Program, and hopefully other institutions can see CUSM as an example and have medical Spanish programs that are a requirement, especially in areas where the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino.
Yvette Walker
So what's the best way to connect with you?
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
Yes, so people can find me on LinkedIn. I'm Alexandra Lopez Vera. I also have a website, and I am part of this CUSM faculty, so I'm always willing to connect with anyone interested.
Yvette Walker
Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your insight and your unique talent for Spanish speaking clinical enhancement of physician care that is very unique and very inspiring.
Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera
Thank you so much for inviting me.
Yvette Walker
My guest today has been Dr. Alexandra Lopez Vera, Director of the Medical Spanish Program at California University of Science and Medicine. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/IELatinoVoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from San Antonio Regional Hospital, here for life. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
