Incorporating Antiracism Coursework into a Cultural Competency Curriculum

Abstract

Creating a socially conscious educational environment is an imperative if health care practitioners are to have a significant impact on health inequities. The effects of practitioner bias, prejudice, and discrimination on health and health outcomes have been well documented in the literature. Individuals being trained to provide health care will be entering into an increasingly diverse world and must be equipped with the appropriate knowledge and skills in order to meet the needs of those seeking their care. Cultural competency training in medical education has evolved over the past 15 years since the Institute of Medicine's 2002 report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. As research on the effectiveness of this training has emerged, several authors have called for the integration of antiracism training into the cultural competency curriculum, but few have found effective ways of doing so. This article describes the approach of one midwifery program in order to inform clinical education programs across the spectrum of health care practitioners.

Keywords: cultural competency; curriculum; diversity; health disparities; midwifery education; quality improvement; racism; students.