Standard 3: Health
care organizations should ensure that staff at all levels and across all
disciplines receive ongoing education and training in culturally and
linguistically appropriate service delivery.
On Standard 2, we emphasized the important of a culturally
and linguistically diverse staff.
Although a diverse staff is prone to expressing culturally sensitivity,
it does not guarantee cultural competence.
Therefore, it is necessary to effect ongoing and relevant cultural
training for staff.
In order to be successful, staff must genuinely aspire to
cultural competence. Therefore,
management must ensure staff members see the development linked to their personal
and professional growth. If staff
members view cultural competence as merely “an expectation to be in meetings/trainings,”
the organization will not see improvements in working with multicultural
communities.
A few of the training topics suggested by The Office of
Minority Health include:
·
Components of successful communication among
staff and patients/consumers of various cultures and languages.
·
Strategies for resolving racial, ethnic, or
cultural conflicts between staff and patients/consumers.
·
Accessing policy and procedural resources. This
includes accessing interpreters and translated written resources.
·
The impact of cultural differences on disease
prevention, diagnosis treatment, rehabilitative support, and end-of-life care.
I also would add
the following topics:
·
Translating evidence-based practices into
community work.
·
Cultural behaviors and beliefs that prevent
patients/consumers from accessing services.
·
ROI for practices and organizations on cultural
competence policy changes.
It is crucial that all staff, both clinical and non-clinical
members, engage in cultural competent education. Regardless of their cultural or linguistic
background, all members will interact with patients/consumers of different
cultures, linguistic backgrounds, religious views, health beliefs, and
ages. Education and training should be
tailored to their specific needs and skills required to successfully
communicate with patients/consumers.
When it comes to selecting trainers and consultants to train
and educate staff members on cultural competence, it is important to evaluate
the credentials and experiences of potential trainers and consultants. This is because there are no formal or
standard accreditations for cultural competence trainers.
When designing cultural competence trainings for staff and
or clinicians, keeping in mind the demographics of the communities they serve. This is a key component in developing
educational programs that will address the community-specific needs and required
skills of staff.
