I Would Teach It, But I Don't Know How: Faculty Perceptions of Cultural Competency in the Health Sciences, a Case Study Analysis

Abstract

This paper presents results from a survey of faculty perceptions of cultural competency training at “Health Sciences University,” a small, private university in a major city in the Northeastern United States. We found high levels of support among faculty for cultural competency training for students in bench and health sciences broadly, though data suggests that faculty are unsure how to effectively teach cultural competency and how to evaluate its effectiveness. Placing this data alongside literature exploring the lack of diversity and a “chilly climate” in STEM and health science disciplines for marginalized groups, we argue for 1) a need to improve and expand cultural competency training already in place for students and provide faculty with the knowledge and skills to teach it, and 2) using cultural competency as a tool for addressing the lack of diversity and the “culture of no culture” that pervades STEM and health science disciplines.