Core Competencies For Entering Medical Students

Critically analyse one of the main challenges, barriers, and enablers for cultural competence in health care when working in a cross-cultural environment.

Cultural competence is defined as possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to appreciate, respect, and work with individuals from different cultures. It is a concept that requires self-awareness, awareness and understanding of cultural differences, and the ability to adapt to clinical skills and practices as needed

I have learned that it is important that educators  and health providers be trained on cultural competency to understand the population they are serving. Marks, Sims, and Osher (King, Sims, & Osher, n.d.) define cultural competency  as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross–cultural situations" ( as cited in Cross et al., 1989; Isaacs & Benjamin, 1991). Health providers and educators should investigate demographic patterns or trends in the place where they live and work. This brings awareness of the types of cultures that they might come across when they are working with people. Organizations should integrate and implement policies that promote the value of  diversity, self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of communities they serve (Georgetown  University, 2004). Georgetown University (2004) also stresses that culture competency grows gradually and is always open for improvement.

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

For us to develop cultural competence we need to have a level expertise, knowledge and attributes. When I mention Expertise I am referring to professional skills such as, being able to communicate correct information for culturally different people and their communities, the skill to candidly discuss racial and ethnic issues and to react to culturally based signs, the skill to understand the meaning that traditions/culture has for each person, Interviewing skills that help to understand and accommodate the role of language in a person’s culture and the skill to use the idea of empowerment on behalf of culturally different people and communities.

Adapting to different cultural beliefs and practices requires flexibility and a respect for others view points. Cultural competence means to really listen to the patient, to find out and learn about the patient's beliefs of health and illness. To provide culturally appropriate care we need to know and to understand culturally influenced health behaviors. However, becoming culturally competent is a much more daunting task. Culture (and ethnicity) often influences a patient’s perceptions of health and illness. Therefore, if healthcare providers appear insensitive to cultural diversity, their actions may negatively affect the quality of the healthcare that they provide.

A few of my foundational clinical skills strengths would encompass possessing a non judgmental demeanor, empathy, and genuineness. I have always had a nonjudgemental view going as far back as I could remember. Perhaps the reason stems from listening to extensive hours of gossip as a child during family events. I learned to despise conversations that focused on judging peoples reactions or behaviors. I believe this may be the leading reasons I can express empathy to others. In Fellers & R’s (2003) article, The importance of Empathy in the therapeutic alliance explains that empathy guides the therapist to evaluate the clients behavior and therefore be less judgmental. Empathy also leads to possessing a raw genuineness about one’s self

In our today’s society, we are faced with multiple cultures that affect our ways of thinking, acting, and leaving. Cultural competency reflects one’s culture. Culture reflects the way the children are raised, their way of communicating, what is acceptable or not acceptable, the way they overcome challenges, their clothes, and how we go about medical treatment and so on. I know because I come from a very strong cultural background where it is considered bad to look at older people straight in the eyes while talking to them. Culture can be defined as “the learned and shared beliefs, values and life ways of a designated or particular group that are generally transmitted intergenerational and influence one’s thinking and action modes” (Leininger, 2002).

My life experiences with different cultures began in my hometown, when Prairie Island Tribal Council members educated students about their culture through lectures, dance, and band performances. This allowed me to appreciate my Mdewakanton classmates’ culture. My exposure to different cultures expanded during an internship at a medical examiner’s office, because death is universal. I learned being culturally respectful and sensitive begins by listening to their stories and experiences before answering their questions honestly and reassuring them the deceased would be treated with respect. As I traveled to rural Honduras on a medical brigade and as a student studying abroad in Italy and Germany, I realized by listening and observing without judgement, I began to understand the cultures. In addition, I discovered generalizations of a culture give an incomplete view and I cannot assume I understand a culture. Instead, individuals are unique based on experiences as well as their culture.

The progress I have made on building cultural competence is I met this guy while I was at work, and he was telling about how his insurance won’t be able to cover for his visit to campus health. I suggested to him that maybe he change health care providers to someone who can possibly help cover more things than the one he has now. Also in one of my public health classes one of my teachers is having a luncheon with people who have HIV and I know if I go to the event I can get a better insight on what they are dealing with and find out ways to help them, since the luncheon is ran by an organization that helps people who live with HIV, or I could just give them support

After watching the Cultural Competence in Health care video, I learned that there are many different people I will deal with in my career as an advocate for health. One quote I really liked from the video stated, “My diversity is my strength, not my weakness”. I believe this is true because having so many different people of different cultural backgrounds opens up the opportunity for different points of view to develop new ideas. This reminds me of the activity we did in class on our first day. We were asked to simply write down what our thoughts were. What we realized upon getting our sheets back is that when you work with others, they may have an idea you had not thought about. Overall, I think this video is a good representation of the

Cultural diversity has different meaning to each and every one. Some of us considering cultural diversity to be acquired where for the others it’s a skill that they have to learn. It’s very important that the health care providers are knowledgeable and sensitive to cultural differences because they are the ones to deal with the patients of different background on a daily basis. Being cultural savvy will help them to give the best patient care. For that reason, health care workers must be especially aware that addressing cultural diversity goes above the values, beliefs, practices and customs. An outstanding medical professional has a good manner and makes patients feel comfortable and at ease during exams and treatments. Cultural knowledge is the skill to respond appropriately to people of different cultures, ages, races, religions, sexual orientations, abilities, and ethnicities, and embrace on the way that will allow a person to feel respected and valued. The article "Diversity & Cultural Competency in Health Care Settings" discusses diversity in health care environment, "A health care professional who has learned cultural competence engages in assistive, supportive, facilitative, or enabling acts that are tailor-made to fit with individual, group, or institutional, cultural values, beliefs, and life ways in order to provide quality health care. In other words, they demonstrate the attitudes and behaviors that enable them to effectively work with individuals with diverse

Anderson, P. A., Gill, P. S., Greenfield, S. M., & Loudon, R. F. (1999). Educating medical students for work in culturally diverse societies. Journal of American Medical Association, 282. 875-880.

The five core competencies identified by IOM and the sixth added by QSEN, safety, are believed to be necessary to improve both quality and safety of the healthcare system within which nurses work (Multimethod teaching). The six core competencies outlined are patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, informatics, and safety (Diffusing Qsen). While all competencies are significant to the healthcare system, patient centered care is vital to positive patient outcomes and focuses on the patient’s perspective within the healthcare system.

Cultural competence is focused on learned behaviors and actions and can be pertain and individual, organization or policy (Oelke, Thurston, & Arthur, 2013). Ideally, a healthcare providers’ practice would only be influenced by the individual patient and/or the community of which the patient resides. But in reality, the healthcare providers’ practice and care is influenced by many entities, such as the