Relias Media - Continuing Medical Education Publishing

The trusted source for

healthcare information and

CONTINUING EDUCATION.

  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • MyAHC
    • Home
      • Home
      • Newsletters
      • Blogs
      • Archives
      • CME/CE Map
      • Shop
    • Emergency
      • All Products
      • Publications
      • Study Guides
      • Live Webinars
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Libraries
    • Hospital
      • All Products
      • Publications
      • Study Guides
      • Live Webinars
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Libraries
    • Clinical
      • All Products
      • Publications
      • Study Guides
      • Live Webinars
      • On-Demand Webinars
    • All Access
      • Learn More
      • My Subscription
    • My Account
      • My Subscriptions
      • My Content
      • My Orders
      • My CME/CE
      • My Transcript
    Home » Blogs » Hospital Report » Stop the domino effect: Train your staff about patients’ cultures

    Hospital Report
    Hospital Report RSS FeedRSS

    Hospital Report Website Blog Header

    The premier resource for hospital professionals from Relias Media, the trusted source for healthcare information and continuing education.

    Follow @ReliasMedia on Twitter for article updates and more.

    Stop the domino effect: Train your staff about patients’ cultures

    July 10, 2013
    No Comments
    Reprints
    Facebook Twitter Linkedin Share Share

    Blog Topics

    Access Management

    Accreditation

    Behavioral Health

    Case Management

    Compliance

    Cost savings

    Disaster Planning

    Employee health

    Healthcare reform

    Infection Control

    Leadership

    Liability & Risk Management

    Marketing

    Medical Ethics

    Medicare

    Patient Education

    Patient Safety

    Patient Satisfaction

    Quality Improvement

    Reimbursement

    Risk Management

    Staff Education

    Staff satisfaction

    Strategic Planning

    Surgery

    Wellness

    By Joy Daughtery Dickinson

    The Chinese man struggled to understand what his American healthcare provider was saying. The patient barely spoke English. The provider threw up his hands in frustration and said, "He just doesn't get it." "Some people assume they have a low IQ because they can't comprehend [English]," said Angel Andrés Ham, MD, who previously was an anesthesiologist affiliated with Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, TX. The incident happened to Ham's grandfather, who was a professor and the writer of college textbooks and for whom English was a second language. Just because some patients struggle with English doesn't mean they're unintelligent, Ham says. "It's really important to recognize that fact," he says.

    wpclipart.com wpclipart.com

    Ham is Asian, but he was born in Honduras and trained at a Western hospital system. This background has given him a unique perspective on cultural differences. Language and cultural differences often are at the heart of miscommunication between patients and providers. Such miscommunication has the potential to result in poor, or even harmful, patient care. Speaking a little bit of a patient's language goes a long way toward helping that patient relax, said Ham, who speaks Spanish and a little Chinese. "The patient can identify with you," he said. "When you can understand their culture, you are apt to get a more accurate history."

    This story, straight from the pages of our own Same-Day Surgery newsletter, illustrates the domino effect: If members of your staff aren’t properly trained, then they don’t understand the background and cultural influences of your patients. If they don’t understand their patients, then they’re not equipped to give them the best quality care.

    Help is here. A couple of resources have just been released:

    • A new guide from the Equity of Care initiative and AHA’s Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence describes the steps and educational techniques of becoming a culturally competent healthcare organization. Equity of Care is a national call to action for increasing diversity in healthcare governance and leadership; cultural competency training; and collecting and using race, ethnicity, and language preference data. (For more on Equity of care, see our blog “Forget the Color of your Parachute – What Color is your Administrative Floor?”)
    • The Office of Minority Health has released the Enhanced National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS). One important improvement is a clear focus on the role of leadership and governance in delivering culturally competent care, the AHA says. The office also released a blueprint with guidance and strategies to help implement them. This is the first update to the standards since their release in 2000. It expands the concepts of culture, audience, health, and recipients and includes a focus on leadership and governance as drivers of culturally competent healthcare and health equity.
    “This long-awaited update will provide hospitals, physicians, and others at the frontlines of care a vital resource to ensure the care they provide is of the highest quality for all,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock in an April 24 blog post.

    What are you doing to ensure members of your staff are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate care? Feel free to comment below.

    Post a comment to this article

    Report Abusive Comment

    Shop Now: Search Products

    • Subscription Publications
    • Books & Study Guides
    • Webinars
    • Group & Site
      Licenses
    • State CME/CE
      Requirements

    Webinars And Events

    View All Events

    Free Email Newsletters

    All Fields Required

    E-Newsletter Options
    • Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
    • American Nurses Credentialing Center
    • American College of Emergency Physician
    • American Board of Internal Medicine: Maintenance of Certification
    • California Board of Registered Nursing
    • Commission for Case Manager Certification
    • American Academy of Pediatrics
    • American Osteopathic Association
    • Home
      • Home
      • Newsletters
      • Blogs
      • Archives
      • CME/CE Map
      • Shop
    • Emergency
      • All Products
      • Publications
      • Study Guides
      • Live Webinars
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Libraries
    • Hospital
      • All Products
      • Publications
      • Study Guides
      • Live Webinars
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Libraries
    • Clinical
      • All Products
      • Publications
      • Study Guides
      • Live Webinars
      • On-Demand Webinars
    • All Access
      • Learn More
      • My Subscription
    • My Account
      • My Subscriptions
      • My Content
      • My Orders
      • My CME/CE
      • My Transcript
    • Help
    • Search
    • About Us
    • Sign In
    • Register
    Relias Media - Continuing Medical Education Publishing

    The trusted source for

    healthcare information and

    CONTINUING EDUCATION.

    Customer Service

    customerservice@reliasmedia.com

    U.S. and Canada: 1-800-688-2421

    International +1-404-262-5476

    Accounts Receivable

    1-800-370-9210
    ReliasMedia_AR@reliasmedia.com

    Mailing Address

    • 1010 Sync St., Suite 100
      Morrisville, NC 27560-5468
      USA

    © 2019 Relias. All rights reserved.

    Privacy Policy  Terms of Use  Contact Us  Reprints  Group Sales

    For DSR inquiries or complaints, please reach out to Wes Vaux, Data Privacy Officer, DPO@relias.com

    Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing