Virtual Classrooms and Communities of Practice: New Tech Strategies for Enhancing Culturally Responsive Health Care

Abstract

Given the devastating health and mental health disparities in the USA, there are increasing mandates and subsequent requirements that medical and mental health professionals receive training in culturally responsive health care. Similarly, medical groups, hospitals, and health plans across the country are struggling to comply with Federal Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services. This chapter describes two unique online community educational and support efforts in the cultural medicine arena. The first is a training program for medical educators that meets in a virtual classroom as part of a master’s program in medical education. Participants enhance their capacity to train learners in the awareness/attitudes, knowledge, and skills components of a cultural medicine curriculum through a combination of didactic and creative experiential and web-based exercises that will be described in this chapter. The second portion of the chapter consists of a description of Communities of Practice and will more specifically describe a virtual community of professionals across the nation dedicated to enhancing institutional efforts in cultural medical education. Through a combination of monthly meetings, an archival wiki, and ongoing online listserv communication, participants grow and help each other to develop creative and effective educational interventions, while simultaneously problem solving such dilemmas as optimal curriculum delivery strategies and dealing with reluctant learners.