Speaking Spanish as a healthcare provider isn't just a communication skill. It is an act of reassurance at a time when millions of immigrants across the U.S. are afraid of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This well-founded fear is leading many immigrant patients to feel unsafe seeking medical care. That is why Spanish-speaking physicians, in addition to nurses, physician assistants, administrators, and other clinicians, matter more than ever.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in the U.S., spoken by approximately 43 million people. Nearly 28 million people in the U.S. do not speak English or have limited English proficiency. Among immigrants with limited English proficiency, nearly three in 10 report that difficulty speaking or understanding English has made it hard to obtain healthcare services.
Yet, our healthcare physician workforce has not kept pace with that need.
A study of more than 107,000 first-year resident physicians found that 43.2% reported speaking Spanish at some level. But only 22.7% of those Spanish-speaking residents described their proficiency as advanced or native, the levels most consistent with providing truly language-concordant care.
