College of Chiropractic
Core Cultural Competencies
Northwestern College of Chiropractic
Statement of Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the dignity of all human beings, and resolve to treat each other and our patients with respect and equality. We recognize the differences among us, including, but not limited to: culture, race, ethnicity, age, ideology, class, gender, sexuality, disabilities, religion and spirituality.
Students at Northwestern College of Chiropractic will demonstrate competency in the following aspects of culture and diversity:
1. The provider as a cultural being
- Identify one’s own cultural influences
- Identify one’s own perspectives on and attitudes towards health and disease.
2. The culture of the chiropractic healing system
- Describe/identify potential cultural differences between patient and provider expectations regarding the role of the doctor and the role of the patient.
- Describe/identify culturally-driven behaviors and attitudes that can facilitate or hinder the development of an effective doctor/patient relationship.
3. Disparities in health status and health care
- Appraise current literature regarding disparities in health and health care.
- Describe factors that contribute to disparities in health and health care.
4. Culture in the clinical encounter
- Describe how perceptions and models of health and illness impact
a clinical encounter.
- Describe other healing systems that may be accessed by patients
- Identify personal biases that may emerge in the clinical
encounter.
- Describe select models of health and illness
5. Cross-cultural skills
- Communicate effectively, using various means, with people of diverse populations
- Demonstrate strategies for interviewing a patient about cultural dimensions of health and healing
- Demonstrate strategies to negotiate between the patient and the provider’s models for health and illness
6. Service
- Describe one’s own personal ethic regarding social responsibility and service
- Demonstrate social responsibility and service within communities that are different from one’s own
