Dr. María Lourdes Alarcón Fortepiani

Dr. María Lourdes Alarcón Fortepiani is a Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry (UIWRSO) who uses her Spanish fluency as the patient educator and translator during UIWRSO outreach activities for Hispanic communities locally, in San Antonio, as well as in Yucatan, Mexico. The encounter with underserved populations with different dietary habits, economical resources and access to Health Care in Mexico widened her perspective of patient education and inspired her to adapt the content of patient education resources that would align with the geographical and socioeconomic status of the patient. The Mission trip experiences in Mexico together with the interaction with other optometrists in Colombia via a webinar also changed her perspective of instruction in the classroom. Now, she envisions a more practical individualized approach to patient care incorporating sociodemographic factors and aims for the students to apply these components when evaluating their own patients.