JAMA Study Examines Need for Improved Alignment Between Multilingual Physicians and Linguistically Diverse Patient Communities

A study of first-year medical residents published online earlier this month in JAMA Network Open found that more than 70% have at least some level of bilingual language proficiency. While such a statistic appears promising, many residency programs nonetheless fail to match physician language skills with the needs of patients possessing limited English proficiency. Moreover, the study determined that fewer than 200 first-year residents with advanced or native language skills are available per 100,000 limited English proficiency patients and, somewhat surprisingly, a particularly low ratio for such commonly spoken languages as Spanish. The study highlights the need for medical education and training to more appropriately align multilingual candidates with programs serving patients who can benefit from them.