A Novel Emergency Medicine Cultural Competency Curriculum Addressing Health Care Disparities

Background: Effective cultural competency (CC) training for future health professionals is an important first step towards improving healthcare disparities (HCD). The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) now requires that institutions train residents and faculty members in CC relevant to the patient population they serve.

Methods: Using Kern's Model, we created and implemented a novel CC curriculum tailored to specific program needs in an emergency medicine residency program.

Results: At the end of the curriculum, respondents reported having a better understanding of the importance of CC for their practice ( = 0.004) and of how a patient's personal and historical context affects treatment ( = 0.002). They also reported an increase in the frequency of practicing strategies to reduce bias in themselves ( < 0.001) and others ( < 0.001), as well as comfort interacting with and treating patients from different backgrounds ( < 0.001). Lastly, they reported improved preparedness to collaborate with communities to address HCD ( = 0.004) and to identify community leaders to do so ( < 0.001).

Conclusions: The challenges of CC training demonstrate the need for a standard yet adaptable framework. We have designed, implemented, and evaluated a novel curriculum tailored to the specific needs of our EM residency program. The curriculum improved participants' attitudes, preparedness, and self-reported behaviors regarding CC and HCD. This framework represents an example of a successful model to meet ACGME requirements.