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Culture Clues

Culture Clues™ & Cultural Competency

This living guide aims to highlight resources on culturally sensitive care resources for UW care providers, educators, and researchers. Within this space, UW was previously known for the resource Culture Clues™, which was created and maintained by UW Medicine Patient and Family Education Services. This specific resource has since been discontinued.

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This is a living document with new perspectives contributing to the field every day. Therefore, we welcome your feedback and recommendations!

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Building Cultural "Competency"

Cultural competence, sensitivity, responsiveness, humility, awareness, etc. are all terms used to express the idea of making sure we treat people of different backgrounds with dignity, respect, and care. This guide is intended to get you started with learning how to care for, educate, and research how various backgrounds and identities may impact the level of care and comfort patients may receive in healthcare.

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Explore the following themes that often appear in literature and discussions around cultural competency.

Understanding the cultural, societal, linguistic, or sociopolitical context that may impact acceptance, inclusion, or equality in healthcare. Cultural knowledge is most commonly gained through lived experiences and active learning.

  • Respect your patients, fellow colleagues, or students by asking for their preferences. Do not assume.
  • Practice patient-centered care. Understand that there is no 'One Size Fits All' among people that may share the same identity, with the understanding that intersectionality can have a profound impact on people's individual perceptions.
  • Seek out learning experiences through research or within your institution and community. Explore how culture, history, language, and values may impact lived experiences and perceptions of reality.

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Acknowledgement that there are differences among different cultures, backgrounds, languages, or countries. Recognition and understanding that this is a continuous practice, and approach learning opportunities without fear or hesitation.

  • Strive to get out of your 'comfort zone'. Seek out opportunities that will require you to learn and grow.
  • Be willing to demonstrate sensitivity, accessibility, and responsiveness to your patients, colleagues, or students.
  • Recognize intersectional impacts on identity and perception. Consider how intersectionality can impact your or other people's perceptions of the same topic or experience.

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A catch-all term for any type of individual skillsets that would promote or reinforce cultural competency. This includes skills such as: mindfulness, advocacy, good rapport or relationship-building, and self-monitoring for biases or assumptions.
  • Understand and study how different languages for the same concepts can impact intent or meaning.
  • Practice self-reflection and acknowledge your own strengths and weaknesses.
  • Examine your interpersonal skills and practice mindfulness on how you perceive and interact with others.

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A growing concept that originates from aboriginal nursing education in New Zealand. It is a call to action for justice within healthcare by recognizing power imbalances within cultural, societal, structural, and institutional health practices.

  • Recognize unsafe cultural practices that make it unsafe for staff, colleagues, or students to express their cultural identities different from you and/or the institution. Aim to be judged as 'safe' for others.
  • Advocate for systemic changes that reinforce flexibility and mindfulness in practice and service.
  • Educate and ensure that you, your colleagues, or students avoid attributing blame to victims of historical and social processes for their present circumstances.

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General Resources for Cultural Competency

Offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), these continuing education e-learning programs are designed to help you provide culturally and inguistically appropriate services (CLAS).  There are a variety of continuing education units available for various professions in healthcare.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides training for health professionals, scientists, educators, and policy staff on cultural literacy. 

Provided by the National LGBT Cancer Network and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, this set of free modules aims to educate and promote LGBTQ+ Cultural Humility among healthcare professionals. The first few modules are applicable to all healthcare professionals. A prior 24 hour registration is required.

The National Center for Cultural Competence have made available a variety of online curricula and learning tools to help promote cultural competence among health providers, including community health providers and caregivers.

A self-pace course offered by the Stanford University School of Medicine and presented by the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity at Stanford University School of Medicine. This course is designed for health professionals to understand unconscious bias in practice. This course also provides 1.0 American Medical Association (AMA) PRA Category 1 Credits™ upon completion.

The U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration have resources, reports, and statistics on health equity. 

The Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services provide free trainings, guides, and other resources for a variety of healthcare providers.

Information, training, tools, and links on health literacy research, practice, and evaluation for public health topics and situations. The CDC also provides a list of organizations working on health competency based on state.

The WHO provides resources, news, events, and other information on social determinants of health. 

Provides cultural competency trainings, guides, and consultations in healthcare. Medical Interpreter classes and Equity and Inclusion services are available as well.

Reading materials on how various care professions can implement and benefit from cultural skills in their patient care.

A conservative list of published literature on methodology and research on ethnic and minority populations within the context of health research.

Handbooks and other published literature that pertains to creating a more culturally competent curriculum.