Healthcare Spanish Program

Pacific University offers coursework in the Spanish language specifically for healthcare providers, both at the graduate and undergraduate level.  The courses are available for students in the Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Graduate Psychology, Physician Assistant Studies, Audiology, and Master of Healthcare Administration programs in the College of Health Professions. 

“Meeting the healthcare needs of our diverse community is central to our mission and values. Spanish language competency and cultural sensitivity is built into the health care curriculum we teach at Pacific University. Our goal is to help our students become well-rounded health professionals who can treat the whole patient and the whole community.”
— President Lesley M. Hallick

Instructor and Program Coordinator

Maria-Jose Rodriguez, MS | Assistant Professor of Healthcare Spanish
Hillsboro Campus ITF 117 | 503-352-7342 | mariarodriguez@pacificu.edu

Courses

CHP 505: Healthcare Spanish I (2 credits) - Fall and Spring

CHP 506: Healthcare Spanish II (2 credits) - Spring only

This two-part accelerated course will develop the skills needed to understand and communicate in Spanish at a beginning level within the healthcare setting. In addition, the course will help students gain valuable understanding of basic cultural issues related to Hispanic patients. Students may complete the entire sequence or start with part II per skill level and placement guidelines.

No prior Spanish knowledge is required for this course.

Registration

If you have any questions regarding registration and/or placement for CHP Healthcare Spanish courses, please contact Katrina Gust at (katrina.gust@pacificu.edu) or 503-352-2650.  Do not try to enroll in this course via BoxerOnline.

Latino Bilingual Track Students

If you are a Latino Bilingual Track student, please contact Ruth Zuniga (rzuniga@pacificu.edu) for placement test information and requirements.

About Maria-Jose, Program Coordinator

María-José Rodríguez is a native of Spain and has been teaching Spanish since 1995.

María-José earned a B.A. in linguistics from the University Complutense of Madrid, Spain. She also earned a B.A. in education from the University Autonoma of Madrid, Spain. When she moved to the US, she completed a Master’s degree in Comparative International Development Education at the University of Minnesota. She has taught Spanish at the University of Minnesota, Clark College, Washington State University, and Mount Hood Community College. Prior to teaching Spanish, she worked with the Latino community in the non-profit sector with Migrant Education and OCHA.

When not teaching, María-José enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, drinking tea, and spending quality time with her friends and family.

View María-José's resume (pdf).