The relationship between faculty characteristics and the implementation of cultural competency training in physician...

Cultural competency training has been present in academic medicine for many years, but interest resurfaced when the Institute of Medicine released a report on health care disparity and called for curricular improvement in medical education to eliminate this disparity. Unfortunately, many limitations in the implementation and assessment of the training have emerged, and it has been demonstrated that cultural competency training has not been uniform across medical education or physician assistant education.

A national online survey of faculty members at 141 accredited PA programs was conducted. The study addressed the relationship of specific faculty characteristics with the implementation of cultural elements in cultural competency training in the didactic phase of PA programs.

Results of the study demonstrated that disability was excluded most frequently in the implementation process. In addition, a significant relationship between a lack of previous cultural competency training by faculty members and the implementation of less cultural elements was demonstrated.

These findings support the need for a standardized definition of culture and greater emphasis on cultural competency training for faculty.