Rural Health Education Network (RHEN)

The overall goal of the workshop is to educate pre-health profession students about the growing diversity in our communities and what this means for them as future healthcare providers. The workshop provides a general overview of the growing cultural variety of today and future Nebraska. The course is developed for undergraduate pre-health students from small communities with little exposure to diversity. While emphasis of the course will focus on skills of the future physician, physician assistant, or nurse, the workshop would be applicable to most pre-professional health curriculums.

The Cultural Competency Workshop will specifically address four of the fourteen Recommended Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Healthcare Services and focuses on 5 ethnic groups: African American, Native American, Asian (and Pacific Islanders), Hispanic and Sudanese.

UNMC provides the following:

1. A weeklong program focused on issues surrounding cultural competency in health care delivery. Curriculum developed by the Rural Health Education Network staff of the Chancellor’s Office in coordination with UNMC faculty and consultant members of the Nebraska Minority Public Health Association.
2. Housing (double occupancy), the majority of meals, and classroom materials
3. Professors and qualified academic credentials and curriculum
4. Logistics and coordination of activities
5. Suggestions for setting up the 9-12 hour practicum, with a minimum of 3 visits, to be completed in an organization or clinic or that benefits an underserved community prior to May 1, 2006.
6. Students grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C- sent to the undergraduate institution following completion of the practicum.

Some specific projects for students include:

• Working in small groups and research a clinical issue affecting underserved populations and present a Power Point presentation on their findings.

• Shadowing health care professionals in underserved clinics located in the Omaha metropolitan area.

• A Standardized Patient Interview: performing a history and physical intake (verbal interview) with a simulated patient. Following the session, the students review the process with a consultant and recommendations on verbal communications and body language are discussed.

• Following the workshop, completing a 9-12 hour practicum, with a minimum of 3 visits, in an organization or clinic that benefits an underserved community.

For more information about the Cultural Competency Workshop contact Liliana Bronner at (402) 559-8106, email lbronner@unmc.edu.