Communication skills are a top priority in a Michigan PharmD education. This summer, P-4 Eugene Kreys and P-2s Jane Zhang and Chending Wu added their own twist: using their bilingual skills and pharmacy knowledge to tear down the language barrier separating non-native-English-speaking patients from the sage advice of their community pharmacists.

Acting as translators (Kreys in Russian; Zhang and Wu in Mandarin Chinese) working side-by-side with Rite Aid staff pharmacists Lynda Parson, PharmD’96, and Helena Elterman, PharmD’00, the students gained unique insights into community practice.

“What most impressed me [about the U-M Pharmacy student translators] was their determination to help anyone who approached them; their ability to get accurate answers to patients’ healthcare questions; and their consistent follow-through,” observes Lynda Parson, PharmD’96, here with native-Russian speaker P-4 Eugene Kreys.

This pilot project was sponsored by the University of Michigan Health System’s Program for Multicultural Health (PMH) and coordinated by PMH health educator specialist Trish Rowley, BSN, MS.

“Ethic groups have higher morbidity and mortality rates than the general population,” explains Rowley. “While communication difficulties are not the sole cause, they do contribute to the problem. Anything we can do to eliminate communication barriers not only helps patients, it also helps reduce the total cost of health care.”

The project focused on two ethic populations: an elderly Chinese community based in Parkway Meadows, a senior housing complex on Ann Arbor’s north side; and an elderly Russian-Jewish community based at Cranbrook Tower, a senior housing complex on Ann Arbor’s west side.

Because Parkway Meadows is only two blocks from the Rite Aid store where the program was based, most participants were Chinese speakers.

To publicize the program, the sponsors created flyers codeveloped by students and then translated by students into patients’ native languages. The students also worked with Rowley, Associate Dean Lynda Welage, Clinical Associate Professor Nancy Mason, BSPharm’76, PharmD’81, Parson, and Elterman to develop a four-color medication information brochure. This, too, will be translated into multiple languages.

P-2 students Chending Wu, Jane Zhang, and Rite Aid pharmacist Helena Elterman, PharmD’00, confer with two patients about prescription insurance coverage.

“Most patients were very open and trusting with me because I spoke their language,” Zhang remarks. “One lady gave me her wallet and told me to ‘use it as you see fit.’ Another pulled us into a corner to show us her scar from bypass heart surgery. In many ways, the patients reminded me of my own grandparents for whom I often translate.”

“The program achieved its goals; in fact, we are now planning to hire a Mandarin-speaking technician as a service to our large Chinese-speaking patient population,” says Parson. “I was impressed with our students. What most impressed me was their determination to help anyone who approached them; their ability to get accurate answers to patients’ healthcare questions; and their consistent follow-through.”

Wu came away from the experience inspired by Parson’s and Elterman’s passion for community practice.

“They both had deep professional knowledge and could answer almost any question with confidence and clarity,” notes Wu. “It was evident that they really cared about patients. This experience deepened my interest in community pharmacy. I could see the difference concerned pharmacists can make in people’s lives.”