UNLABELLED: With an increasing awareness of health disparities, medical schools are challenged to develop training in cultural competency for their students. We developed and evaluated the effectiveness of an interactive workshop designed to improve third-year students' attitudes, beliefs and cross-cultural communication skills. METHODS: At the start of a six-week required family medicine clerkship, 196 medical students participated in small group (20-24 students) workshops. Didactics included facts about health disparities and a model of cultural competency. During a skill-building component, students were exposed to live vignettes portraying ineffective and effective cross-cultural doctor-patient interactions. Impact on students' attitudes, perceived bias and knowledge of techniques was assessed by comparing pre- and postworkshop scores. RESULTS: Participants increased their cultural awareness on most items of a cultural awareness scale. Fifty-five-, 71- and 66% of the sample agreed or strongly agreed the program was valuable, appropriate and effective, respectively. Conversely, only 17-, 6- and 9% of the sample disagreed or strongly disagreed, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A workshop for third-year students led to an increase in cultural awareness and was considered appropriate and valuable. Further study, including longitudinal training and evaluation, is needed regarding effective methods to increase cultural competence in clinical practice.
UNLABELLED: With an increasing awareness of health disparities, medical schools are challenged to develop training in cultural competency for their students. We developed and evaluated the effectiveness of an interactive workshop designed to improve third-year students' attitudes, beliefs and cross-cultural communication skills. METHODS: At the start of a six-week required family medicine clerkship, 196 medical students participated in small group (20-24 students) workshops. Didactics included facts about health disparities and a model of cultural competency. During a skill-building component, students were exposed to live vignettes portraying ineffective and effective cross-cultural doctor-patient interactions. Impact on students' attitudes, perceived bias and knowledge of techniques was assessed by comparing pre- and postworkshop scores. RESULTS:Participants increased their cultural awareness on most items of a cultural awareness scale. Fifty-five-, 71- and 66% of the sample agreed or strongly agreed the program was valuable, appropriate and effective, respectively. Conversely, only 17-, 6- and 9% of the sample disagreed or strongly disagreed, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A workshop for third-year students led to an increase in cultural awareness and was considered appropriate and valuable. Further study, including longitudinal training and evaluation, is needed regarding effective methods to increase cultural competence in clinical practice.
Authors: Augustus A White; Heather J Logghe; Dan A Goodenough; Linda L Barnes; Anne Hallward; Irving M Allen; David W Green; Edward Krupat; Roxana Llerena-Quinn Journal: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities Date: 2017-03-24
Authors: Juan R Deliz; Fayola F Fears; Kai E Jones; Jenny Tobat; Douglas Char; Will R Ross Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2019-11-08 Impact factor: 5.128
Authors: Désirée A Lie; John Boker; Sonia Crandall; Christopher N Degannes; Donna Elliott; Paula Henderson; Cheryl Kodjo; Lynn Seng Journal: Med Educ Online Date: 2008-01-01