Courses
Spring quarter; 1-2 credits (pass/no pass) undergraduate and medical students; also offered 3 credits for letter grade only; course coordinator: Ronald D. Garcia, Ph.D.; open to the whole community. One hour lecture and one hour discussion section.
As the population in the United States, and particularly in California, becomes more culturally diverse, health care providers must be sensitive to a wide variety of cultural beliefs, practices and values of cultures other than their own, as well as to potential risk factors and barriers to communication. This introductory course promotes cross-cultural competence in doctor-patient interactions.
Students:
- Explore how beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, values, traditions and language shape expectations, satisfaction and effectiveness of clinical encounters.
- Examine their own family patterns, issues of immigration, common risk factors and diseases, health promotion needs, folk healers, language, changing demographics and intracultural variations.
Discussion components of the course are designed to foster experiential learning and greater interaction with the lecturer. Students gain exposure to a continuum of practice settings, including community-based primary care and academic specialty clinics.
For more information, please contact
Ethnicity and Medicine: 2009
Previous Lectures: 2008
