Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: August 1, 2017
[Interculturality in the medical practice of Dr. Albert Schweitzer]
Roberto Campos-Navarro1, Adriana Ruiz-Llanos
1Departamento de Historia y Filosofía de la Medicina, Fac. Med., UNAM. rcampos@servidor.unam.mx
Abstract:
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a young and promising German who at age 29 decided to undertake the profession of Medical Doctor at the University of Strassburg after finishing a career in musical studies in Paris (1899) and obtaining in Berlin a doctoral degree in Philosophy and Theology. Surprisingly, Albert Schweitzer, despite his comfortable life in Europe, decided in 1913 to practice his medical career in a remote and small Equatorial African country. He devoted nearly 50 years of his life caring for the Black population at Lamaberene, where he built a hospital. In this paper, we attempt to develop some theoretical aspects related with interculturality in the medical practice of Dr. Albert Schweitzer. We begin by considering certain sociocultural variables in hospitals that give care to patients with cultural characteristics that are substantially different from those of the health care personnel who organize, administer, and execute medical functions.
Related Concept Videos
Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Interdisciplinary Care: The Health Care Team-II
Physical Therapist
A physical therapist (PT) aims to restore function or prevent additional impairment in a patient following an injury or disease. Massage, heat, cold, water, sonar waves, exercises, and electrical stimulation are some treatments used by PTs to treat...
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Ethics and Bioethics
Dimensions of Health and Illness
