Educating Medical Students in Appalachia: Suggestions for Culturally Sensitive Care

Educating medical student who will serve the Appalachian region and its inhabitants is a crucial factor currently lacking in medical school instruction. Lack of awareness of Appalachian cultures, cultural shame and a general dearth of information in medical schools regarding Appalachian identities not only eventually leads to less-than-optimal medical care for persons of Appalachian heritages but also often ends in patients feeling misunderstood by their physicians. Other concerns related to lack of medical student and/or physician appreciation of Appalachian cultural heritages include inaccurate diagnoses due to inaccurate communication, poor patient follow through on treatment recommendations and lack of attendance at subsequent medical appointments. Increasing medical student awareness and understanding of the peoples who live in the Appalachian region is the first step in correcting this medical wrong. The National Health Service Corp loan repayment program offers primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health providers the opportunity to have their student loans repaid while serving in communities with limited access to care. In order to take advantage of this program, medical, dental and behavioral health care providers are often asked to accept employment offers in underserved parts of the region, which, due to lack of attention at the medical school level, perpetuates the cycle of culturally insensitive care. Medical schools adjacent to/within the boundaries of the Appalachian region can correct this phenomenon by adding required lectures into their core curriculum. In un-conference session we will discuss the cultural competencies about persons of Appalachian heritages and provide corrective suggestions