6 keys to practicing multicultural medicine

Nowadays, many offices resemble cultural melting pots. The author's practice, in North Riverside, IL, a suburb of Chicago, borders the heavily Hispanic cities of Berwyn and Cicero and the village of Maywood, which has a prominent African-American community. Because the author lives a multicultu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical economics 2012-05, Vol.89 (10), p.36, 38-38
Main Author: Chow, Hannah S
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Cultural Diversity
Guidelines
Health administration
Health care delivery
Health economics
Humans
Medicine
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Native languages
Patients
Physician patient relationships
Physician-Patient Relations
Practice Patterns, Physicians' - organization & administration
United States
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Summary:Nowadays, many offices resemble cultural melting pots. The author's practice, in North Riverside, IL, a suburb of Chicago, borders the heavily Hispanic cities of Berwyn and Cicero and the village of Maywood, which has a prominent African-American community. Because the author lives a multicultural life and practice in a diverse setting, she knows what it's like to straddle two different cultures. She hopes these suggestions will enhance the practice: 1. Acknowledge the culture, but put safety first. 2. Learn about health issues in patients' native lands. 3. Appreciate that there are aspects of other cultures that medical practitioner may not understand completely. 4. Speak the language or at least learn to say hello in the patient's native language. 5. Employ multicultural staff, if possible. And take time with patients who are not native English speakers. 6. Be able to speak to a little girl.
ISSN:0025-7206
2150-7155