Insurgent multiculturalism: rethinking how and why we teach culture in medical education.

Title

Insurgent multiculturalism: rethinking how and why we teach culture in medical education.

Creator

Wear Delese

Publisher

Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges

Date

2003
2003-06

Description

The author proposes a theoretical orientation for cultural competency that reorganizes common curricular responses to the study of culture in medical education. What has come to be known in medical education as cultural competency is theoretically truncated and may actually work against what educators hope to achieve. Using Giroux's concept of insurgent multiculturalism, she suggests that the critical study of culture might be a bridge to certain aspects of professional development. Insurgent multiculturalism moves inquiry away from a focus on nondominant groups to a study of how unequal distributions of power allow some groups but not others to acquire and keep resources, including the rituals, policies, attitudes, and protocols of medical institutions. This approach includes not only the doctor-patient relationship but also the social causes of inequalities and dominance. Linked to professional development efforts, insurgent multiculturalism can provide students with more opportunities to look at their biases, challenge their assumptions, know people beyond labels, confront the effects of power and privilege, and develop a far greater capacity for compassion and respect.

Subject

*Attitude of Health Personnel; *Cultural Diversity; Attitudes; Curriculum; Education; Health Knowledge; Humans; Medical/*organization & administration; Physician-Patient Relations; Physician's Role; Practice; Professional Competence/standards; Teaching/methods; United States

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Pages

549–554

Issue

6

Volume

78

Citation

Wear Delese, “Insurgent multiculturalism: rethinking how and why we teach culture in medical education.,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed March 28, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/4237.