Future physicians create an English-Spanish tool kit while learning to better communicate with Latino patients

August 31, 2016

When University of Alabama medical student Roshmi Bhattacharya saw a problem in her community, she created a course to help solve it. “Roshmi noticed when she was doing her rotation that some of the nurses were treating Latino patients unfairly or inappropriately,” says Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, faculty advisor for the class and deputy director of the UA Institute for Rural Health Research. “One part of the course concentrates on cultural competency and Latino health, and the other part is where students learn Spanish so they can interact better with patients.”