Aquifer Culture in Health Care is designed to teach fundamental cross-cultural skills that can be used in the provision of health care services. The goal is to provide culturally appropriate care that maximizes common ground between the differing perspectives of the patient and the provider.
Aquifer Culture in Health Care sets the stage for active learning and rich discussion about the role of culture in health care, as well as the development of interpersonal and communication skills, systems-based practice, and professionalism—all in the setting of caring for children with complex medical illnesses.
What is cultural competency?
A set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations.
Simply put, cultural competency is what allows one to interact effectively and appropriately with people (patients) from different cultures. However, the term can be misleading because it suggests a definite endpoint when one becomes “competent.”
Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services