Peter Blood, MSN, RN, CS, Nursing, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Health care organizations are continuously challenged to develop culturally competent programs that are effective, efficient, and measurable. The complexity and variability of cultural diversity has posed added challenges in an environment of scarce resources, competing demands, increased responsibility and accountability where measurements and outcomes are fundamental... A review of the literature regarding successful cultural competence programs as well as the experience gained form best practices of an academic medical center nursing department has helped to establish the ten step framework for helping organizations develop an effective culturally competent program. Organizations that have successfully developed cultural competence programs presented cultural competence in the context of high quality care, emphasizing cultural competence as a component of patient safety, quality health services and patient centeredness. These organizations value culture and language by making it central to the delivery of health care services. Appropriate ethnic, race, and language data collection, conducting an initial assessment to determine and establish the department or organization level of cultural competence are a few of the steps. This presentation will utilize anecdotes from actual experiences to discuss each step allowing participants to learn form best practices and outcomes.