The Tensegrity Curriculum: A Comprehensive Curricular Structure Supporting Cultural Humility in Undergraduate Medical...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Equity
• Cultural Humility in Medicine

Background:

• Growing health disparities disproportionately affect underserved communities.
• Physician training requires a comprehensive approach for diverse patient populations.
• Existing cultural competence training may not fully address systemic inequities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate The Tensegrity Curriculum at Rowan-Virtua SOM.
• To assess the impact of cultural humility training on mitigating health inequities.
• To explore the relationship between curriculum design, empathy, and health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of The Tensegrity Curriculum, emphasizing cultural humility alongside cultural competence.
• Assessment of student satisfaction via course evaluations.
• Evaluation of deeper understanding through graded coursework and feedback on self-critique.

Main Results:

• Early outcomes indicate increased student satisfaction with the curriculum.
• Ongoing assessments show improved understanding of implicit bias, social determinants of health, and systemic discrimination.
• Students demonstrate a greater commitment to lifelong self-evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The Tensegrity Curriculum shows promise in enhancing physician training for health equity.
• Further research is needed to validate the curriculum's long-term impact on empathy and health disparities.
• Integrating cultural humility is a key component in addressing complex healthcare inequities.