Cultural Awareness in Healthcare is a new 3-hour online continuing education (CE) course designed to examine cultural disparities within the healthcare system. It includes activities aimed at enhancing awareness and fostering greater cultural competence among participants.
The course begins with a definition of cultural awareness, and what it means to be culturally aware. This section will cover various subjects, including cultural competence and intercultural competence, prevalent models of cultural competence, and the influence of factors such as ethnocentrism, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, power distance, tolerance for uncertainty, and short-term versus long-term orientation on cultural awareness. Additionally, the course will address cultural intelligence and the four capabilities associated with cultural quotient.
We will then examine the significance of cultural awareness, addressing various issues such as the misinterpretation of culture within the medical field, which has resulted in healthcare systems that often overlook personal interactions between patients and caregivers. We will also consider the impact of language on cultural comprehension, the disparities in access to life-saving cancer treatments, and the differences in recovery rates among minority groups. Additionally, we will discuss how social isolation and loneliness can elevate the risk of heart attacks and strokes, the implications of individualistic cultures on perceptions of loneliness and the associated stigma, and the contrasting post-career quality of life experienced by Black and White NFL players. Furthermore, we will highlight the disproportionate mental and physical health challenges faced by racial and ethnic minorities during the pandemic, the cultural variations in the likelihood of receiving bystander CPR, and the heightened risk of misdiagnosis in mental health contexts. We will also explore the connection between cultural awareness and the misinterpretation of emotions, including the ability to distinguish between a genuine Duchenne smile and a feigned one, the influence of racial bias on empathy development, and finally, the detrimental effects of cultural insensitivity on our overall quality of life.
Next, we will examine the ways in which cultural awareness can benefit us. This includes the development of more trustworthy networks, enhancement of affective trust, promotion of open idea sharing and cross-cultural collaboration, and improvement in the effectiveness of educators and managers. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in reducing cultural biases that adversely affect minorities, enabling us to better recognize stressors that are specific to certain cultural groups and comprehend how these stressors may influence health outcomes.
The final section of this course will examine the development of cultural awareness. It will feature a range of activities that can be employed daily to confront implicit biases, enhance understanding of indigenous perspectives, promote conversations with individuals from diverse cultures, and ultimately improve our cultural competence.
Outline
- Introduction
- Section 1: What Is Cultural Awareness?
- Section 2: Why Cultural Awareness Matters
- Section 3: How Cultural Awareness Can Help Us
- Section 4: How Do We Build Cultural Awareness?
- Section 5: Awareness Exercises
- Summary
Course #31-55 | 2025 | 57 pages | 20 posttest questions
Course Directions:
This online course provides instant access to the course materials and CE test. The course is text-based (reading) and the CE test is open-book (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course document).
Successful completion of this course involves passing an online test (80% required, 3 chances to take) and we ask that you also complete a brief course evaluation.
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Professional Development Resources is a nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. We are approved to sponsor continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Georgia State Board of Occupational Therapy; the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0135); the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board and Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and are CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within a few days of completion).
PDR offers over 150 accredited online CE courses for healthcare professionals.
Target Audience: Psychologists, School Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists (MFTs), Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), Occupational Therapists (OTs), Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), and Teachers
Enjoy 20% off all online continuing education (CE/CEU) courses @pdresources.org! Click here for details.