A hidden curriculum: mapping cultural competency in a medical programme

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cultural Competency Studies
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Cultural competency involves skills for understanding cultural differences in health beliefs and practices.
• Medical schools are increasingly recognizing the need for cultural competency training.
• Limited published evaluations exist on cultural competency within medical curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the current status of cultural competency training at a Swedish medical school.
• To identify how cultural competency is integrated into the medical program.
• To assess the perspectives of students and faculty on cultural competency education.

Main Methods:

• A multimethod approach was used for curriculum evaluation.
• Analysis of learning objectives, interviews with faculty, and focus groups with students were conducted.
• Triangulation of data from different sources provided a comprehensive view.

Main Results:

• Cultural competency is a component of the curriculum, but often not explicit.
• Teachers reported 25 instances of cultural competency-related teaching.
• Students perceived limited specific training, and cultural competency was not formally assessed.

Conclusions:

• Cultural competency exists in various forms (present, absent, hidden) within the curriculum.
• Discrepancies in perspectives necessitate proposed curriculum revisions.
• Triangulation methodology effectively informed understanding and future changes in the curriculum.