AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/glossary/cultural-competence
Cultural competence
Cultural competence is the ability to give good care to people of any culture, faith or language.
Summary
- It starts from understanding how background shapes a patient's beliefs about illness and treatment.
- Using a professional interpreter instead of a relative is part of it.
- It means asking each patient what matters to them, without assuming from their background.
- Asking about fasting in Ramadan before setting a medication plan is one example. Knowing that many Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood is another.
Interview questions
- A patient speaks little English and their teenage child offers to translate. What do you do?
- A patient's religious beliefs conflict with the treatment you recommend. How do you handle it?
- How would you care for a patient whose culture you know nothing about?
Practise answering these with a mentor
Our interview preparation has you answer questions like these out loud, with feedback on each answer.
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More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.