Cultural competence and simulated patients

BACKGROUND: Cultural competence education is central in addressing the socio-cultural factors that affect health care; however, there is little agreement over the best teaching approach. Although simulated patients are widely used in medical education, little is known about their application to cultural competence education. CONTEXT: At the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, University of Lausanne, the content of a cultural competence education module for resident doctors was recently restructured, with a final session emphasising previous principles through a simulated patient-doctor encounter. INNOVATION: We tested the feasibility of cultural competence training with simulated patients. We created two complementary case scenarios based on real clinical practice and focused on specific clinical skills. An interdisciplinary team trained two simulated patients, and a 90-minute pilot session took place. General satisfaction was high and the increased opportunity for interaction was greatly appreciated. According to the learners, the simulated case setting was relevant for improving self-reflection and cultural sensitivity: applying skills in the session enhanced perceived impact for 'real-world' practice. We tested the feasibility of cultural competence training with simulated patients IMPLICATIONS: The use of patient-centred simulated clinical practice as a teaching approach seems to be advantageous in increasing providers' self-reflection about cultural competence and intensifying the impact of cultural competence education in clinical practice, and hopefully will improve the quality of care for every patient. Case scenarios based on a diversity of socio-cultural factors and oriented towards a broad skills set would seem preferable to avoid cultural drift and to enhance the learning of cultural approaches that are adaptable to every patient.