¿Habla Español? The Growing Need for Veterinary Spanish

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all our incredible Hispanic veterinarians, technicians, assistants, practice managers, and veterinary community members! 

We at Roo strive for a world where our veterinary professionals are as diverse as the communities we serve. In honor of that vision, we want to take a moment to celebrate our extraordinary Hispanic Roo Relief Vets, Techs, and Practice Managers and explore how their unique backgrounds inform their perspective and what they bring to the practice of veterinary medicine.

We also like to take this moment to reflect on an important issue in vet med that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: the unfortunate lack of Spanish-speaking veterinary professionals and the impact this can have on animal healthcare. So much of the care we provide is dependent on delivering care instructions to pet owners, which can be difficult when there’s a language barrier. 

Thankfully, there’s a growing number of resources out there to help vet med professionals learn veterinary Spanish, such as Vetpacito, an incredible service from friend of Roo Dr. Tyler Primaver that offers Spanish educational videos for veterinary professionals as well as a number of other Spanish-language resources you can use in your clinic. Check it out:

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This past year, Dr. Primavera has been hard at work expanding Vetspacito to offer even more incredible resources and educational videos. Coming soon: an interactive software tool to help veterinarians and technicians triage better in both English and Spanish!

"I took an oath to use my skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare. The veterinary oath transcends language barriers and encourages us to help all of society. Yes, that includes the part of society that does not speak English. We need to think differently to help more Spanish speaking pet parents." 
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- Dr. Tyler Primavera, DMV, founder of Vetspacito

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The veterinary profession is getting more diverse!     

This year, we have good news! The veterinary profession is getting more diverse each year. Last year, we sadly reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics only found 0.5% of veterinarians were Hispanic in 2023, but in 2024 this number has risen to 7.9% — the highest it’s been since 2010 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023).  

We’ve seen a slight decline in the percentage of Hispanic veterinary technicians (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023), but there’s still a lot more Hispanic technicians and assistants working in vet med than there are veterinarians, which means they're typically doing most of the translating for Spanish-speaking clients. It’s important to note that just because someone is Hispanic doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be fluent in Spanish let alone veterinary Spanish, which involves translating important medical terms. Spanish-speaking vet techs and assistants are incredibly valuable and provide a great service helping Spanish-only pet owners receive quality medical care.  

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From Honduras to Texas with love (of animals)

“My roots descend all the way down to Central America,” says Reyna Ramos, Roo Relief Veterinary Technician. Growing up, Reyna spent a lot of time visiting her parents’ homeland of Honduras where she helped out on her grandfather’s cattle farm. In fact, this is where her interest in animals and their healthcare began. 

Reyna’s aunts ran the family business and were both college professors who taught  agriculture business management. While Reyna was both fascinated and impressed by her aunts, this didn’t yet ignite a passion in her.  

“Every time I’d see an injured animal out in the pasture, I was saddened. I was unable to do much, I would run, grab a wet cloth, and pat the wounds. It was my instinct to act in such a way. I was then approached by my uncle who always had a story. He used to tell me how he would treat wounds with herbal medicine and how most animals healed on their own. I believed him, I personally have seen many heal on their own. [But] this story always concerned me as I felt a desire to learn more about treating and caring for animals in a humane manner.”

- Reyna Ramos, RVT

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Language barrier or cross-cultural superpower?

Reyna describes her experience working as a relief tech as exciting. Working at multiple clinics across Texas has allowed her to work with many great Hispanic vets and techs who come from other Latin American countries. 

“Unfortunately, I have encountered uncomfortable situations where I feel like I’m not smart enough if I am unable to translate veterinary terminology quickly,” says Reyna. “Although most key terms are of Latin origin, translating another language can be challenging.” Reyna confesses that there have been times when she has blanked on terminology while talking with a veterinarian or pet owner, which can be uncomfortable.  

She wishes there were more crash courses online for translating veterinary terminology, “We definitely need more tutors who are certified in teaching English and training veterinary staff.” Thankfully more and more are becoming available today.

However, this door swings both ways; this is also an opportunity for Reyna to shine. Often, she’s asked how to properly describe a diagnosis to Spanish-speaking clients. “I’m typically pretty good about translating, but cultures aren’t always the same. Therefore, I must find the right word to say to deliver high quality client education. Fortunately I have studied veterinary medicine in Honduras, this makes it easier when speaking with other Hispanics.” 

Bilingual veterinary professionals: An opportunity to be extraordinary 

"The other day I was doing relief veterinarian work at a different hospital. I was the only Spanish speaking person working in the clinic. A receptionist asked me, 'Do you speak Spanish?' I do, so I took the call. This is just one example of a vet clinic being underprepared to serve Spanish speakers. Many times people bring in their kids who are younger and use them to translate. Now, people are seeing that there is a need, but the question I want to ask is how are things actually changing?"

‍- Dr. Cano, bilingual Relief Veterinarian

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A JAVMA article exploring the Spanish language barrier in veterinary healthcare found that “although more veterinary professionals may benefit from learning a second language, few veterinary colleges offer language courses.” With all that needs to fit into a DVM curriculum, practicing vet med in a second language tends to get left off the course listings. 

Last year, only a handful of AVMA-accredited veterinary schools in the US offered such programs (only 5 in 2023), but that number — and the number of AVMA-accredited veterinary schools overall — is growing. Veterinary colleges offering courses in Veterinary Spanish include Colorado State University, Iowa State University, University of Illinois, Purdue, and Washington State University.   

A 2016 JAVMA study found that 89% of clinics surveyed had Spanish-speaking clients with limited English proficiency, but only 8% of that same group had staff members conversational in Spanish. This, of course, had a direct business impact as clinics that offered Spanish-language resources and had Spanish-speaking staff had increased numbers of clients whose first language was Spanish. 

This makes bilingual veterinary professionals like Reyna and Dr. Cano incredibly valuable, especially because they are so rare. “There have been times when Hispanic veterinary staff members come to me for tutoring,” says Reyna, and “I have been in consultations where the pet owner does not know a drop of English.” 

Her advice for these situations: move at a slower rate. This may not be ideal for treating a lot of patients quickly, but with healthcare, it’s incredibly important to deliver accurate information and ensure pet owners can make informed decisions no matter what language they speak.   

What we can do: Vetspacito and closing the veterinary Spanish language gap

Fortunately, there are a growing number of resources available to help veterinary professionals better communicate with Spanish-speaking clients. As we mentioned above, Vetspacito is just one incredible service that offers veterinary Spanish educational videos and resources for your clinic. 

Dr. Primavera suggests the best ways to help bridge this language gap is by hiring more bilingual staff (and compensating them properly) or by learning Spanish, which is where Vetspacito comes in! Vetspacito uses different media forms to bridge the language barrier, including free brochures and videos that can be shared in the exam room to help convey important veterinary topics in Spanish. We’re big fans of their incredible video series on common pet emergencies, which covers Spanish words and phrases you can use to communicate with pet owners during these challenging situations. 

The AVMA provides a number of free brochures and other resources that can be provided to Spanish-speaking clients as well.

“Pet parent education is crucial to pet health. Why are we relying on children of Spanish speaking pet parents to translate life or death information, such as about whether to spay or neuter their pet? The burden should not be falling on the child, but rather the veterinary professional. If we are serious about providing the best care for all pets, we should do well to think differently and be open-minded about trying new solutions."

- Dr. Tyler Primavera, DMV, founder of Vetspacito

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Growing Equity and Inclusion in Vet Med

As for ways we can increase equity and inclusion in vet med, Reyna turns to the amazingly supportive veterinary community: “Having more veterinary advocates will boost equity. Spreading positively can be as simple as 1-2-3. We do everything for our patients, together with strong skills we become one.”

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Originally Posted 9/26/23