Poster Presentations (Group II)

The Center for Cultural Proficiency in Medical Education (CC-PriME) is a new center that was developed at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSoM). CC-PriME adds a new dimension to the UWSoM, and reinforces the mission of the School and its commitment to enhancing the diversity in medical training as a unique educational opportunity. The demographics of our region is rapidly changing, and the School recognizes that now is the time to begin preparing for what the future brings - an increasing diverse population that will need a health professional workforce that is prepared to provide the best cultural-responsive care.

The mission of CC-PriME is to

· Create a teaching environment that is sensitive to and integrates into the undergraduate medical education curricula and graduate medical education the knowledge of the many factors that are cultural barriers that contribute to health;

· Provide the learner with the skills necessary to provide quality care in a culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate manner;

· Enhance the ability of all physicians in training and faculty to address racial/ethnic disparities in among the diverse population groups in the Pacific Northwest region;

· Become a culturally proficient institution that can develop culturally competent approaches, or "best practices", to eliminate these disparities and serve as a regional educational resource on cultural competency to all community physicians in the region.

The UWSoM was chosen as one of 18 medical school sites in the U.S. to be awarded a Cultural Competence and Health Disparities Award in August 2005 by the NIH/NHLBI to develop and integrate a cultural competency curriculum across the training spectrum – from undergraduate medical education to graduate medical education to faculty development. A new collaborative group was formed (National Consortium for Multicultural Education for Health Professionals) with the goal of developing and disseminating multicultural research and education materials on cultural competency.

The specific aims of CC-PriME are as follows:

· Develop and integrate an evidence-based curriculum in cultural competency, and integrate this curriculum into the current medical school curriculum;

· Design diversity training for all graduate medical education programs that will help the residents-in-training: assess and reflect on their personal stereotypes, biases, and prejudices that impact the quality of patient care they deliver; assess and reflect on the hidden discrimination and biases in the "culture" of medicine; and develop cross-cultural communication skills that will enhance their ability to approach cultural differences and confrontation in a culturally responsive manner.

· Design and implement faculty development in cultural competency for all basic science and clinical faculty involved in teaching the required courses, clinical clerkships and elective preceptorships;

· Achieve cultural awareness with all faculty and staff involved in teaching who will in turn be better prepared to train both medical students and residents in this area of study;

· Develop a robust Center that will serve as a regional educational resource on cultural competency for the UWSoM and its affiliates in the region.

This poster session will provide information on the challenges in developing this Center, and the lessons learned.