Somali Cultural Competency among Students in One Minnesota Medical School

Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the United States. Thus, students in the state’s medical schools are likely exposed to Somali patients during their training. We assessed baseline knowledge of and attitudes about Somali patients among students at one medical school in the state. We then exposed those students to an educational intervention and reassessed their knowledge and attitudes afterward. We found students’ baseline knowledge was poor (65% of questions answered correctly, on average), but improved (80% answered correctly, on average) post-intervention. The majority of students also felt the quality of care they could provide Somali patients would be compromised because of their lack of cultural understanding. Although the results were not statistically significant due to low power, this study represents a meaningful attempt to assess students’ baseline knowledge as well as a proof-of-concept intervention to highlight ways to improve cultural competency training in Minnesota’s medical schools.