Ethics Core Curriculum IV:
Critical Issues in Managing Patients with Life-Threatening Illnesses from Diverse Cultures
A priority of Providence Center for Health Care Ethics is education in understanding the role of culture in shaping ethical issues in health care. Under the leadership of the center’s director of programs, Barbara Segal, and through the generosity of a grant from the Roberts Brothers Foundation, the center conducted interviews and a survey of Providence hospitalists to learn their educational needs in the area of cultural competency and undertook extensive research in that field. The result is a four-hour interactive curriculum for physicians on critical issues in managing patients from diverse cultures at end of life. The curriculum includes an introductory module along with modules on the following topics:
Module I: Discussing a serious diagnosis and prognosis across cultures
Module II: Code status discussions across cultures
Module III: Discussing transition to hospice across cultures.
The curriculum includes three video case studies filmed by the center and drawn from actual Russian, Vietnamese and Mexican patient situations, interactive exercises, an informational didactic, and access to additional resources. The program is intended to help participants improve communication and reduce conflicts with patients.
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