Evaluation of a train-the-trainer program for cultural competence.

Abstract

To develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of a cultural competence train-the-trainer workshop for pharmacy educators. A 2-day train-the-trainer workshop entitled Incorporating Cultural Competency in Pharmacy Education (1.65 CEUs) was provided to pharmacy faculty from schools across the United States. Baseline, posttraining, and 9-month follow-up surveys assessed participants' (n = 50) characteristics and self-efficacy in developing and teaching content. At baseline, 94% of faculty members reported no formal training in teaching cultural competence. After completing the workshop, participants' self-rated confidence for developing and teaching workshop content significantly increased. The number of participants who rated their ability to teach cultural competence as "very good" or "excellent" increased from 13% to 60% posttraining. Participants reported teaching 1 or more aspects of the workshop curriculum to nearly 3,000 students in the 9-months following training. The workshop significantly increased faculty members' perceived and documented ability to teach cultural competence. The train-the-trainer model appears to be a viable and promising strategy for meeting the American Council for Pharmacy Education accreditation standards relating to the teaching of diversity, cultural issues, and health literacy.