Multicultural Competence Developed by Tim Corbett RN, MA, LMHC

What is Multicultural Competence? demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the patient’s culture, health-related needs, and culturally specific meanings of health and illness accepting and respecting cultural differences not assuming that the health care provider’s beliefs and values are the same as the patient’s

What is Multicultural Competence? resisting judgmental attitudes welcoming and being comfortable with cultural encounters adapting care to be congruent with the patient’s culture striving to reduce prejudice and bias caregivers need both “culture-general” and “culture-specific” information to provide competent and sensitive care

ASPECTS OF MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION dominant language regional dialects contextual use of language paralanguage variations: tone, volume, intonations and inflections willingness to share thoughts and feelings nonverbal cues: eye contact, gestures, facial expressions, use of touch, body language, spatial distance, acceptable greetings

ASPECTS OF MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION temporality: orientation towards past, present, and future or clock versus social time amount of formality (use of names & titles)