Assessing Multicultural Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills and Comfort: Medical Education for a Changing World

Objectives: To assess the knowledge, skills, comfort and attitudes pertaining to cultural competency of first and fourth year medical students at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. Study Design: The Cross Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) was distributed to first and fourth year medical students. The CCCQ provided demographic information, as well as the students’ perceptions of their cross cultural knowledge, skills, comfort and attitudes. IBM’s Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data, in an attempt to identify potential predictive factors for higher levels of cultural competency among entry level students, as well as those completing their medical studies. Results: No significant differences were detected between the two groups when compared by race, age, student year, country of birth or gender. However, significant differences were seen when comparing students who were bilingual, had Pre-Medical, or other previous experience, working or volunteering at a facility that provided care to multicultural or vulnerable populations. Conclusions: While other studies have suggested that racial background, gender and age are possible predictive factors for greater cultural competency among healthcare professionals, this study concluded that experiences related to serving multicultural populations added to students comfort and their perceptions of their own cultural competency. Students with personal experiences working with and caring for individuals from multicultural or vulnerable populations showed higher scores on the CCCQ. We suggest these types of experiences and exposures are predictive of greater cultural competency