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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
MD Education Program

Care of Hispanic/Latino Patients Scholarly Concentration

With a growing number of Hispanic and Latino patients in the United States, the need for culturally sensitive medical care is vital. The Care of Hispanic/Latino Patients Scholarly Concentration prepares students to meet this need by providing opportunities to:

  • Understand and apply culturally appropriate medical care

  • Improve Spanish-speaking fluency

  • Use Spanish in a clinical setting

  • Improve medical care for Hispanic/Latino populations

Acceptance to this concentration requires an intermediate-level proficiency in Spanish as assessed by an application interview and completion of 300-level college Spanish coursework. Due to the requirement of extensive oral practice of the Spanish language, it is not anticipated that students can begin this concentration after Phase 1 at this time.

Locations

Students participate at the West Lafayette campus.

Curriculum and Timeline

Through coursework and Spanish-speaking experiences in medical settings, students explore cultural competencies, special issues in communication, and medical Spanish fluency. Students further develop and demonstrate their knowledge through the scholarly project and product.

Topic-Specific Courses

Introduction to Care of Hispanic/Latino Patients

Latino Community Health Status Evaluation

Core Curriculum

Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship

Scholarly Concentration Project

Scholarly Concentration Product

Recommended Pathway

 This table shows that the first topic specific course, should be completed during phase one in year one. The second topic specific course should be completed during the summer between first and second year of med school. The third topic specific course should be completed during phase one in year two. The two remaining courses, project and product, are longitudinal. The project can begin as soon as phase one in year two of med school, while the product should begin during phase three and conclude on or before the end of fourth year.

Students determine if a concentration pathway will fit in their schedule by contacting concentration co-directors. 

Scholarly Project Topic Examples

Students work with faculty to complete a project in a relevant topic based on student interests. Students are welcome to come up with their own project idea. Potential project topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Cultural differences in patient care strategies between American and Mexican academic medical centers
  • Public health research in the Hispanic/Latino community
  • Defining culturally-appropriate care for Hispanic/Latino patients
  • Bilingual language acquisition in children
  • Obstacles to seeking care by Hispanic/Latino patients
  • Development of patient educational materials for Hispanic/Latino patients

Concentration Co-Directors

Students should reach out to co-directors with any questions about this concentration.

26307-Munguia-Vazquez, Ray

Ray Munguía-Vazquez, MD, PhD

Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery

Bio and Contact Information

Professor Cecilia Tenorio

Cecilia Tenorio, MA

Senior Lecturer, Director of Minor in Spanish for the Professions

Bio and Contact Information

Medicine Avatar Placeholder Image

Thomas I. Jones, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine Practice

Bio and Contact Information

map shows location of the latino patient care concentration in west lafayette
MD Student News

In their words: Scholarly Concentration Q&A with Care of Hispanic and Latino Patients co-directors

Ray Munguia-Vasquez, MD, PhD, and Cecilia Isabel Tenoria, MA, share details on the Care of Hispanic and Latino Patients Scholarly Concentration, in which students improve care for Hispanic and Latino patients by learning and applying culturally appropriate medical care, and improving their Spanish-speaking fluency.