I think this article makes several excellent points. I worked in a dialysis clinic in an inner city neighborhood and the lack of complicance was astronomical. No-one wanted to spend the time with the patients to really understand their situation and to work on a solution.
Patients got too overwhelmed with daily pressures to focus on diet regimens and medicine schedules.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:Good Doc - Bad Cop
Date: 2007/09/19 17:43
By: toledo
Status: User
Karma: -1  
Forum Attending
Posts: 45
I agree with you, culture competency is vital and a key component of being an effective physician. But how can you teach it?
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:Good Doc - Bad Cop
Date: 2007/09/24 11:51
By: jrwbsbl
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Junior Resident
Posts: 8
I personally think that, unfortunately, the only way such competency can be learned is by experiencing it over time. But--and I think this is a big but, I think that such learning can come much faster than most think if physicians listen, and in listening, learn.
I discovered that there really are scores of cultures when viewed in the context of how people's identities influence their health care. Commercial pilots, for example, are definitely a culture with regard to any honest rendering of complaints--they just ain't gonna do it. They are frightened to death they will be grounded. Once I understood this--and realized that their fears were by no means unfounded--I became much better at reading between the lines of what they said.
But if, as in New Jersey, I had been mandated to become conversant in "appropriate" cultures, this would never have been one of them. It's a group of professionals hardly identified on any registry of "cultures."
I learned by listening and scratching my head when my understanding of what had been said did not match with a patient's. Fortunately for my patients, I've always known I was a bit dense, and I had no reservations about asking what were sometimes pretty basic questions.
Being intermettantly clueless does have its advantages.
Jeff Waggoner
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:Good Doc - Bad Cop
Date: 2007/09/25 20:04
By: ohiomd
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Head Nurse
Posts: 53
That is an interesting point Jeff. I never thought about pilots being a "culture". But it makes sense.
I guess it comes down to being a competent physician regardless of the patient group. That means asking the right questions, having good observation skills and, most importantly...having a good relationship with your patients so you can read between the lines.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:Good Doc - Bad Cop
Date: 2007/10/03 22:35
By: wlw
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Attending
Posts: 46
What do you think about the increasing diversity of healthcare providers?
Are physicians from the same background as their patients more likely to display cultural competence? An obvious answer is yes but should that matter? Can a skillful clinician be culturally competent with any population?
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Physician Forums 
