Coastal Shows Cultural Competency in Action with New Training Program

Virginia Beach, VA, August 25, 2009 — Coastal just released its second Cultural Competency program Cultural Competency: Problem Solving with Communication. This new DVD illustrates how patients from different cultures can receive better care through respect and cultural sensitivity.

The program defines cultural competency and explains why it is so vital today, citing its benefits to both healthcare provider and patient.  It lists general cultural competency tips, including how to use interpreters and handle family members.  The course also enumerates perceptions to avoid and provides examples of ethno-cultural differences that can be encountered.

The focus of Cultural Competency: Problem Solving with Communication is its five-step approach that makes interaction between patients smoother and helps facilitate better health care.

The five methods of problem solving involve gathering data; assessing understanding; giving explanations, not orders; being sensitive to patients; and summarizing and explaining the next step.

To help staff visualize and practice each method, Cultural Competency: Problem Solving with Communication dramatizes common scenarios in healthcare facilities, including patients who complain they are not being given the care they need; families who bring food for a patient when they’re not supposed to; an employee who misdiagnoses a patient’s condition due to failure to consider cultural differences. The program also compares “contrasting” approaches to highlight the dos and the don’ts of cultural competency.

For more information about Coastal Training Technologies or for a free no-obligation preview of Cultural Competency: Problem Solving with Communication, call 800-729-4325, visit www.coastalhealth.com or email sales@coastal.com.