American Academy of Family Physicians

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Cultural Proficiency

Cultural proficiency is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes and beliefs that enable people to work well with, respond effectively to, and be supportive of people in cross-cultural settings.

Family physicians care for a wide variety of patients and need these skills to offer better patient care.

Quality Care for Diverse Populations Videos

Quality Care for Diverse Populations is a web-based training program developed by the AAFP to assist physicians and other health care professionals in becoming more culturally proficient in the provision of care to their patients.

The program includes five video vignettes depicting simulated physician-patient visits in an office setting as a means to explore ethnic and sociocultural issues found in today's diverse health care environment.

Learning Objectives
  • Understand how to work collaboratively with medical interpreters;
  • Recognize why and when cultural factors related to obesity may be a barrier to doctor-patient communication and patient compliance;
  • Identify specific health-based information concerning gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) populations, including health risks, health disparities and strategies for improvement;
  • Identify major stressors related to the process of immigration and common problems that may be encountered during the medical exam; and
  • Understand the importance of honoring traditional Native American cultural communication patterns.
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