Hawaii medical journal
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Hawaii medical journal · Nov 2011
Recommendations for medical training: a Native Hawaiian patient perspective.
Culturally competent health care providers are needed to eliminate healthcare disparities. In the State of Hawai'i, Native Hawaiians suffer some of the worst health disparities. Prior to implementing a cultural competency curriculum to address these disparities, the John A. Burns School of Medicine's Department of Native Hawaiian Health Cultural Competency Curriculum Development team asked Native Hawaiian patients about their experiences and recommendations. ⋯ The emphasis participants placed on the need for cultural competency training of physicians supports the need to address the role of culture in medical education. Although most of the issues raised are not unique to Hawai'i, participants' recommendations to teach students about the host culture and traditional healing practices identify important themes not usually found in medical school curricula.
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Hawaii medical journal · Nov 2011
Towards cultural competency in end-of-life communication training.
To meet the needs of a more diverse population, a culturally sensitive approach to end-of-life communication is critical. This paper describes a unique communication workshop that introduces future physicians to the delivery of culturally responsive care for patients in palliative and end-of-life treatment. ⋯ Post workshop student evaluations reveal an overwhelmingly favorable response to the curriculum, with high scores for overall quality of the workshop, practical value, and appropriateness for level of training. This workshop meets the goal for all graduating medical students to engage in culturally competent palliative and end of life patient care.