The Third National Conference on
Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations:
Advancing Effective Health Care through Systems Development, Data, and Measurement

October 2 - 4, 2002, Chicago, IL
Westin Chicago River North Hotel

Session C-4: Innovations in cultural competence training for practicing physicians

Innovations in Cultural Competence Training for Practicing Physicians

Women and minorities now comprise the majority of new entrants into the workforce and a substantial percentage of those seeking health care. Yet, minority health status is substantially worse than that of majority citizens for numerous conditions. To appropriately educate trainees and to maintain our skills as practicing clinicians, we must (1) understand the changes occurring and how they affect patients, (2) acquire the skills to deliver culturally competent care, and (3) maintain the resolve to prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable members of society.

Recent studies confirm patients’ preferences for receiving care from like ethnic providers, but recent political and legislative decisions have discouraged academic institutions from training minority professionals. Data describing the current situation suggest that there are few providers from those population subgroups with the poorest health status. Thus, all clinicians should be prepared for caring for a diverse population.

Medical education has traditionally taught the biopsychosocial model of health care that focuses on the patient and his/her disease. To train and mentor future health care providers to deliver high quality, competent and compassionate care to their patients, the cultural model should be practiced. Only by understanding one’s own cultural identity and beliefs can the health professional objectively approach those from different backgrounds. This workshop is designed to meet the following objectives:

1. Explain the demographic and health status changes of the fastest growing segments of the US population.
2. List aspects of common conditions in primary care that differ amongst population subgroups.
3. Propose a culturally sensitive approach to delivering care to patients from different racial and ethnic backgrounds
4. Examine common scenarios related to cultural diversity in clinical practice and suggest approaches to facilitating appropriate quality care and solving problems.

The practical segment of the workshop will spotlight the American Academy of Family Physicians’ recently released video teaching module, Quality Care for Diverse Populations and will incorporate group participation and discussion.

Robert C. Like, MD, MS is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Healthy Families and Cultural Diversity in the Department of Family Medicine at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Like received his MD degree from Harvard Medical School in 1979, and completed his residency and MS degree fellowship training in family medicine from Case Western Reserve University in 1984. He is a practicing family physician with a background in medical anthropology, and has carried out fieldwork in the Azores Islands, Portugal; Beersheva, Israel; Zuni, New Mexico; and the Kingdom of Tonga in Western Polynesia. Dr. Like has served as co-chair of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine's Group on Multicultural Health Care and Education, and as a member of the DHHS Office of Minority Health's CLAS Standards National Project Advisory Committee, and the Georgetown University's National Center for Cultural Competence Advisory Committee. Dr. Like is actively involved in funded research and provides training and technical assistance relating to the delivery of patient- and family-centered, culturally responsive care to diverse populations by clinicians, health care organizations, and academic medical centers.

Robert C. Like, MD, MS
Associate Professor and Director
Department of Family Medicine
Center for Healthy Families and Cultural Diversity
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
1 Robert Wood Johnson Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Phone: 732-246-8084
Fax: 732-246-8084
E-mail: like@UMDNJ.EDU

Jeannette E. South-Paul, MD recently joined the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh as the department Chair after serving for 22 years as a family physician in the US Army. She served as the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services for six years prior to her military retirement. Dr. South-Paul is an alumna of the medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. She has served on multiple committees and task forces related to minorities in medicine including the committee creating the COGME Minorities in Medicine Report in 1997. She is currently the Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ task force to develop a cultural competence curriculum for medical schools. She also serves as the Senior Advisor for the American Academy of Family Physicians committee that partnered with the Bureau of Primary Care of the Health Resources and Services Administration that developed a cultural competence video teaching module. She maintains an active family medicine practice to include maternity care. Her research interests include maternal child health and fitness and evaluating cultural competence in clinicians and trainees.

Jeannette E. South-Paul, MD
Professor and Chair
Department of Family Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
3518 5^th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-383-2378
E-mail: southpaulj@msx.upmc.edu

Cultural Competency Curriculum Modules: Pilot-Test Assessment

The purpose of this presentation is to provide a description and analysis of the pilot-test phase for: A Family Physician’s Guide to Culturally Competent Care. This guide contains nine curriculum modules that are aligned with the 14 CLAS standards organized into 3 major themes: Culturally Competent Care, Language Access Services, and Organizational Supports. The Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services standards (CLAS) are intended to guide all federal initiative in the provision of health care.

The presentation will provide a brief description of the CLAS standards and the modules upon which they are based. The primary focus of the presentation will be to provide a description and analysis of the findings from the pilot-test phase of these cultural competency curriculum modules conducted with family physicians in California, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and Washington state. The pilot-test of the modules was completed during August and September 2002.

Guadalupe Pacheco oversees the office of Minority Health (OMH) Center for Linguistic and Cultural Competence in Health Care. He acts as the Project Officer for various federal and national initiative that address cultural competency policy and programmatic issues. Mr. Pacheco brings 28 years of professional experience to his work in health and human services. He is a graduate of California State University in Fresno and holds a Masters of Social Work (MSW).

Guadalupe Pacheco, MSW
OMH/OPHS
US Department of Health and Human Services
5515 Security Lane, Suite 1050
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: 301-443-5084
Fax: 301-594-0767
E-mail: gpacheco@osophs.dhhs.gov

Carlos Rodriguez serves as the project director for the Cultural Competency Curriculum Project sponsored by the Office of Minority Health. He is responsible for all developmental aspects related to this project. As a Principal Research Scientist at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), he also directs and serves on other health and human services projects that address health disparities in children’s mental health and the over-representation of children of color in welfare. Mr. Rodríguez brings more than 25 years of professional experience working with issues related to minority and at-risk populations in education and human services. He holds a PhD from the University of Arizona in Higher Education, and an MA from the University of Texas at San Antonio in bilingual and bicultural studies.

Carlos Rodríguez, PhD
Principal Research Scientist
American Institutes for Research
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-944-5300
Fax: 202-944-5454
E-mail: Crodriguez@air.org

NEXT >

essentials | models and practices | policy | legal issues | networking | table of contents | contact us | who we are

Copyright © 2003, DiversityRx; www.diversityRx.org, Last update: June 11, 2005

 Diversity Rx is sponsored by: