Secondary About Working With Diverse Populations/Diversity?

[Kameha01]

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I want to mention for my secondary essay about learning cultural competency while volunteering abroad in a third world country, but I don't want to sound like I "know everything" about them. I plan on touching on how I was inspired to want to work with diverse populations that are different from my own background and learn about other peoples' culture as I develop meaningful connections with them. Does this sound condescending? or is it an appropriate diversity topic to write about.

 

[Kameha01]

@Goro @LizzyM I'd love to hear your honest thoughts

 

[Goro]

Should work!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What is the prompt? Likely works but I want to see it.

 

[Browns99]

I want to mention for my secondary essay about learning cultural competency while volunteering abroad in a third world country, but I don't want to sound like I "know everything" about them. I plan on touching on how I was inspired to want to work with diverse populations that are different from my own background and learn about other peoples' culture as I develop meaningful connections with them. Does this sound condescending? or is it an appropriate diversity topic to write about.

Write only if you are sincere, otherwise, it will come off as such. How were you inspired, how much time did you spend there, what did you do afterwards. Saying you were inspired and then doing nothing afterwards will show as it being phony.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Write only if you are sincere, otherwise, it will come off as such. How were you inspired, how much time did you spend there, what did you do afterwards. Saying you were inspired and then doing nothing afterwards will show as it being phony.

Concurring, don't sound like a "volun-tourist."

 

[LizzyM]

If you spent at least 3 months there, fine. If it was a much shorter trip, you have a steeper hill to climb.

 

[Kameha01]

If you spent at least 3 months there, fine. If it was a much shorter trip, you have a steeper hill to climb.

@LizzyM on more reflection, I decided to expand on it being more of how it inspired me to work at a nursing facility with a diverse population (uninsured, homeless patients of a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities, and how I sought to learn about each of them to gain cultural competence, acknowledging cultural humility along the way). Does that seem like a good idea?

 

[LizzyM]

Show, don't tell. Throwing around terms like cultural competence and cultural humility make me 🤢

 

[Kameha01]

Show, don't tell. Throwing around terms like cultural competence and cultural humility make me 🤢

@LizzyM lol you're definitely right. Is it a good idea to use specific examples of what I learned to show, not tell?

 

[LizzyM]

@LizzyM lol you're definitely right. Is it a good idea to use specific examples of what I learned to show, not tell?

Yes.

 

[deleted1000960]

Show, don't tell. Throwing around terms like cultural competence and cultural humility make me 🤢

What? Next you're going to tell me I shouldn't talk about how I "learned compassion" and "empathized with the plight of the underserved community" from changing bed sheets at a hospital...

 

[Kameha01]

What? Next you're going to tell me I shouldn't talk about how I "learned compassion" and "empathized with the plight of the underserved community" from changing bed sheets at a hospital...

hey man i emphasize with those beds. patients have bm'd me before. No one cleaned me up tho I had to do it myself 🙁

 

[Kameha01]

Yes.

One more question if you don't mind. The facility I worked at had a large amount of hispanic and african american patients, many of whom and their physicians told me they suffering from complications due to chronic diseases that particularly affect minority populations. As a future healthcare provider, do you feel like working in such facilities in the future helps broaden one's understanding of these diseases? And if so, in the future, how can I fully utilize this experience as a medical student? Any input is appreciated.

 

[LizzyM]

One more question if you don't mind. The facility I worked at had a large amount of hispanic and african american patients, many of whom and their physicians told me they suffering from complications due to chronic diseases that particularly affect minority populations. As a future healthcare provider, do you feel like working in such facilities in the future helps broaden one's understanding of these diseases? And if so, in the future, how can I fully utilize this experience as a medical student? Any input is appreciated.

Health disparities (differences in the prevalence and severity of negative health conditions) are ubiquitous. You are going to see health disparities anywhere you go and you are going to see these common, chronic conditions that are even more common in communities of color and in populations in poverty. I suppose that there are some suburban hospitals where you aren't going to see people of color but at any academic medical center, I would expect it to be the norm.

 

[Kameha01]

Health disparities (differences in the prevalence and severity of negative health conditions) are ubiquitous. You are going to see health disparities anywhere you go and you are going to see these common, chronic conditions that are even more common in communities of color and in populations in poverty. I suppose that there are some suburban hospitals where you aren't going to see people of color but at any academic medical center, I would expect it to be the norm.

@LizzyM That makes sense. I guess when reflecting on where I want to work/see myself in 10 years, I always thought that I would want to work in underserved communities, but if you say academic medical centers are where what I was referring to are the norm, then do you think it's better to work in those facilities if I want to learn about these health disparities?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

@LizzyM That makes sense. I guess when reflecting on where I want to work/see myself in 10 years, I always thought that I would want to work in underserved communities, but if you say academic medical centers are where what I was referring to are the norm, then do you think it's better to work in those facilities if I want to learn about these health disparities?

You are going to, as a student and as a resident. Any safety net hospital, you will see these disparities in stark detail.

 

[Kameha01]

You are going to, as a student and as a resident. Any safety net hospital, you will see these disparities in stark detail.

@Mr.Smile12 Thanks for letting me know! I know I'm not a med student yet, but do you know/have any advice for how to address these concerns when they continue to persist?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

@Mr.Smile12 Thanks for letting me know! I know I'm not a med student yet, but do you know/have any advice for how to address these concerns when they continue to persist?

I don't know what your essay prompt is, which should give you a little guidance.

Otherwise, yes... the Becoming a Student Doctor class covers it since that's a question all of medical education is addressing. The class starts in July to help anyone preparing for interviews... 😉 . If you want a hint, join the Treating Transgender Patients free resource class.

 

[LizzyM]

@LizzyM That makes sense. I guess when reflecting on where I want to work/see myself in 10 years, I always thought that I would want to work in underserved communities, but if you say academic medical centers are where what I was referring to are the norm, then do you think it's better to work in those facilities if I want to learn about these health disparities?

What do you mean by "learn about these health disparities"? What do you want to learn? While academic medical centers generally care for a broad swath of patients including those who are referred for specialty care, there are also community-based health clinics in marginalized communities that also serve as a safety net and see disparities day after day.

If you are a primary care provider, you are going to see obesity, hypertension, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, etc every day. You are going to have learned to care for people with these diseases, and many others, in residency. What do you want to learn and what are you going to do with what you learn? Do you want to do research and use that to inform efforts at changing health policy? Do you want to develop programs and test whether they work to decrease incidence or improve outcomes for people with these conditions, or to help people change behaviors that lead to poor outcomes? I guess we need to know more about "why medicine" from your perspective to be able to advise you.

 

[Kameha01]

What do you mean by "learn about these health disparities"? What do you want to learn? While academic medical centers generally care for a broad swath of patients including those who are referred for specialty care, there are also community-based health clinics in marginalized communities that also serve as a safety net and see disparities day after day.

If you are a primary care provider, you are going to see obesity, hypertension, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, etc every day. You are going to have learned to care for people with these diseases, and many others, in residency. What do you want to learn and what are you going to do with what you learn? Do you want to do research and use that to inform efforts at changing health policy? Do you want to develop programs and test whether they work to decrease incidence or improve outcomes for people with these conditions, or to help people change behaviors that lead to poor outcomes? I guess we need to know more about "why medicine" from your perspective to be able to advise you.

@LizzyM definitely trying to develop those programs to improve outcomes. I like the idea of changing more personal aspects (emotional, psychosocial, socioeconomical) of someone's life/behavior to help with their conditions, and also like the idea of preventative care, but how I go about that is something I want to learn more about. I guess on more reflection, I'd like to know where/which areas/routes could help me learn more about how I can go on to create those programs, what's been done before and if/how it's helped, current efforts/if they are working or if we are seeing results, etc. And regardless of the answers, I want to try and find ways to either improve on/create new programs that can solve some of these disparities.

Any advice on how one goes about that? Do I just have to "wait" until I go to med school/residency to start?

 

[LizzyM]

You are going to be learning about behavior change strategies, how to interview patients and recommend incremental changes in behavior to improve health, that is a basic part of medical education. You may learn about programs that patients can be referred to such as the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) You are going to become familiar with some existing programs and the published evidence that these programs are effective. As you go through your training you will learn what exists and where the gaps and unmet needs are and you may be moved to action. The literature on the NDPP, for example, is vast and there are disparities in program success by race and by geography (rural v urban).

To contribute to the literature, you may need additional training in study design and data analysis and/or collaborate with a others who are able to handle the statistical analysis side of the project.

 

[Kameha01]

You are going to be learning about behavior change strategies, how to interview patients and recommend incremental changes in behavior to improve health, that is a basic part of medical education. You may learn about programs that patients can be referred to such as the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) You are going to become familiar with some existing programs and the published evidence that these programs are effective. As you go through your training you will learn what exists and where the gaps and unmet needs are and you may be moved to action. The literature on the NDPP, for example, is vast and there are disparities in program success by race and by geography (rural v urban).

To contribute to the literature, you may need additional training in study design and data analysis and/or collaborate with a others who are able to handle the statistical analysis side of the project.

@LizzyM Thanks so much! Is there anything I can do now, before medical school, to help learn about these things? Should I just do like research on the web and find such studies and try to understand them?

Also, this additional training in study design/data analysis, is that also taught in med school for those who are interested in doing this kind of thing?

 

[LizzyM]

@LizzyM Thanks so much! Is there anything I can do now, before medical school, to help learn about these things? Should I just do like research on the web and find such studies and try to understand them?

Also, this additional training in study design/data analysis, is that also taught in med school for those who are interested in doing this kind of thing?

Many people interested in study design/data analysis earn MS or MPH degrees before, during, or after medical school. Some residency and fellowship programs include this training.

 

[Kameha01]

Many people interested in study design/data analysis earn MS or MPH degrees before, during, or after medical school. Some residency and fellowship programs include this training.

oh so going to an MD/MPH program can definitely help me with that? Would those give me like a broader insight into how one goes about creating/learning about these programs/their efficacy?

 

[LizzyM]

oh so going to an MD/MPH program can definitely help me with that? Would those give me like a broader insight into how one goes about creating/learning about these programs/their efficacy?

absolutely!