Do doctors need cross-cultural training?

A recent article published in the September issue of JAMA, (the Journal of the American Medical Association), a survey of over 2,000 resident physicians showed that while over 90 percent believed that it was very important to address cultural issues when providing care, a large percentage indicated they were not adequately prepared to provide competent care to diverse populations. Some areas of concern include culturally specific health beliefs and practices, care of the immigrant population, different spiritual beliefs and cultural customs that influence health care. In addition, over 20 percent indicated that they lacked the skills to identify relevant cultural customs that impact medical care. Almost one-half of those surveyed reported little or no cultural training during their residency.

"Given the growing racial and ethnic diversity of our nation, it is troubling that many of our newest doctors feel unprepared to communicate effectively with patients from a broad range of cultural backgrounds," says Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, director of the MGH Disparities Solutions Center and co-lead author of the JAMA report. "We suggest that residency programs integrate cross-cultural education as part of both formal and informal training experiences, provide mentorship, and evaluate resident physicians' performance in this critical area ." (from MGH news release Sept. 2005)

Cultural competence has been shown to improve patient adherence to the treatment plan, improve physician-client relationships, improve quality of care and reduce health care costs.