The following readers have added their perspectives on cultural competence
Dr. James Wolff, M.D., M.P.H.
One technique I find incredibly effective when dealing with patients from other cultures in other languages is to take a little time to indicate that you understand where the patient comes from and communicate that you are interested in his origin and respect his/her culture. It only takes a few questions: what country are you from originally, when did you move to the US, what do you do or did you do before coming to the US. Often you can demonstrate with these few questions that you are on the patients wave length and are interested in the patient as well as the patient's medical condition. This alone can have positive impact on compliance with your treatment or follow-up recommendations.
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