Cultural & Linguistics Education & Training

With growing concerns about racial and ethnic disparities in health and the need for health care systems to accommodate increasingly diverse patient populations, cultural competence has become more and more a matter of national concern and attention. The United States Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Minority Health - OMH Training Program has funded development of training modules to equip physicians and nurses with cultural and linguistic competencies.

The modules encompassed in A Physician's Guide to Culturally Competent Care contain a variety of self assessments, case studies, video vignettes and learning points. They equip physicians and other health care professionals with competencies that will enable them to better treat their patients. These modules are grounded on the principles outlined in the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care.

Nurses play a very important role in the health delivery system. They spend more time in direct patient care than other groups of health professionals and are employed in a variety of settings. Cultural and language differences may engender misunderstanding, a lack of compliance, or other factors that negatively influence clinical situations and impact patient health outcomes. The Culturally Competent Nursing Modules are a case-based curriculum designed to help nurses better meet the diverse racial, ethnic, and sociocultural backgrounds of patients, colleagues, and staff.

CME Information

The Cultural Competency Curriculum Modules are accredited for 9 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for Physicians and Physician Assistants or 9 contact hours for Nurse Practitioners. These educational programs are offered at no cost to you.

To access the training modules: www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov

Provider Toolkit: Cultural and Linguistic Services

The C&L Tool kit created Industry Collaboration Effort (ICE) is a set of resources to assist with providing effective, compassionate care to a diverse patient population. The tool kit is organized into the following four sections:

Section A - Interaction with a diverse patient base
Encounter tips for providers and their clinical staff, a mnemonic to assist with patient interviews, help in identifying literacy problems, and an interview guide for hiring clinical staff who have an awareness of diversity issues.

Section B - Communication across language barriers
Tips for locating and working with interpreters, common signs and common sentences in many languages, language identification flashcards, and language skill self-assessment tools.

Section C - Understanding patients from various cultural backgrounds
Tips for talking about sex with a wide range of people, pain management across cultures, and information about different cultural backgrounds.

Section D - References and resources
A summary of the "Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Service (CLAS) Standards," which serve as a guide on how to meet legal requirements, a bibliography of print resources, and a list of internet resources.

http://www.iceforhealth.com/library/documents/ICE_C&L_Provider_Toolkit_7.10.pdf