Cultural competency in graduate medical education: A necessity for the minimization of disparities in healthcare.

Abstract

Despite the growing advancements in clinical diagnosis and therapeutics, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare continue to persist as a daunting challenge. Several studies have indicated that minorities in the United States have significantly higher rates of undiagnosed medical conditions [1,2]. Among a multitude of causes; poverty, lack of access to healthcare, lack of education, etc. have been identified as the major causes that result in healthcare related disparities in populations belonging to socio-cultural and economic minorities [3].