How to Teach Cross-Cultural Communication: A Workshop Using the Experiential Learning Model

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cultural Competency
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Increasing US population diversity necessitates improved cross-cultural communication (CCC) skills in healthcare.
• Pediatric residents often lack adequate training in CCC, leading to potential discordance with patients.
• Cultural and racial discordance between medical teams and patients is a growing concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a CCC workshop designed for pediatric residents.
• To assess the workshop's impact on trainees' awareness, familiarity, and confidence in CCC.
• To provide a model for enhancing CCC curricula in pediatric training programs.

Main Methods:

• A 2-hour workshop based on Kolb's experiential learning model was delivered to pediatric residents.
• Learning objectives were aligned with the AAMC's Tool for Assessing Cultural Competency Training.
• Participant feedback was gathered via retrospective pre-post and 3-month follow-up surveys using Likert scales and analyzed with Wilcoxon signed rank tests.

Main Results:

• Post-workshop, 36% of participants were extremely aware of their cultural identity's effect on CCC, compared to 4% pre-workshop (p < .001).
• Confidence in managing cross-cultural misunderstandings increased significantly for diagnosis explanation (70% vs. 25%, p < .001) and disease management (70% vs. 20%, p < .001).
• Sixty-two trainees participated, with 44 completing the initial survey and 12 the follow-up.

Conclusions:

• The experiential learning-based CCC workshop effectively increased pediatric residents' cultural self-awareness and CCC skills.
• The training enhanced participants' confidence in navigating cross-cultural patient interactions.
• This workshop serves as a practical resource for pediatric program directors to improve CCC training and meet accreditation requirements.