Cultural Awareness Training

Organizations need culturally competent employees capable of working with people from different cultures, now more than ever, in this age of globalization. Healthcare services, public services administrations, social care systems (serving transgender people, LGBT communities, people with disabilities, mental health troubles, etc.), educational institutions, and armed forces, are some sectors of employment that need to enforce cultural competency training.?

Expected to reach a worth of $1.46 billion by 2025, cultural competency training programs assure us of better productivity and relationships in workplaces.

What is cultural awareness training?

Cultural awareness training enables individuals to understand and interact effectively with people hailing from different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. At CoachDiversity Institute, we believe cultural awareness is to respect diversity and have an understanding of, and honor, the histories, cultures, languages, and traditions.

Cultural diversity education helps gain a thorough understanding of one’s own culture. It stimulates the willingness to learn the cultural practices of others and instills a readiness to respect and accept those cultural differences.

Compared to other industries, cultural awareness is of paramount importance to healthcare providers. Cultural or language barriers can significantly impede their ability to render competent care. For instance, a report by Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute cites poor patient satisfaction and quality of care due to the lack of linguistic competency. To promote health equity, improve patient care and health outcomes, and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities, we need a culturally competent health care system.

In recent times, organizations have realized that cultural competence can be achieved only through cultural awareness. Without raising awareness, it is hard to bring about competence.?

At CoachDiversity Institute, our training course educates individuals on the cultural characteristics, beliefs, values, and behaviors of global ethnic and cultural groups. This helps learners be open-minded about changing cultural attitudes and be sensitive towards the differences. The product of these teachings with operational effectiveness results in cultural competence.

The Importance of Cultural awareness Training

The U.S. population is diverse, with people belonging to various racial and ethnic backgrounds. This presents opportunities to build relationships with different people.

However, without cultural awareness, it would be hard to establish healthy rapport—for individuals will have to co-exist harmoniously with social groups they might not be able to understand. There is every chance to face hassles in navigating differing socioeconomic statuses, exercising respect, and showing empathy in every aspect of daily interactions.

Here is where cultural awareness encourages people to acknowledge and accept differences. Growing in cultural competence will help demonstrate improved diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace.

Moreover, when employees are open to the diverging perspectives of others around them, it would improve their performance by facilitating empathetic listening, teamwork, and unity. It also helps bring diverse ideas to the table and makes it easy to discover solutions to challenges and compete in the market.

Who benefits from this training?

Cultural awareness training is greatly beneficial for healthcare professionals and those rendering medicare and medical education. As limited health literacy contributes to healthcare disparities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) advocates cultural competence training to ensure that appropriate services reach patients despite their different cultural backgrounds.

For instance, consider the case of a pregnant farm laborer from Mexico in medical distress. When doctors examine her, they realize that she needs an immediate C-section. They try to explain it to her, and although the patient seems to have minimal understanding, she responds yes to all questions.

Post-delivery, the doctors admit the newborn to the NICU due to the baby’s premature birth and respiratory distress syndrome. The doctors try to explain the newborn’s health condition, but communication remains a barrier. As the baby’s condition gets more tenuous, the patient and her family want to bring their traditional healer to cleanse the baby of the illness.

In such a scenario, a culturally competent response would be to get the assistance of an interpreter who communicates in the patient’s native language. That would give the doctors a greater understanding of the patient’s medical history. Besides, the patient can also be thoroughly enlightened about the health condition and thereby make an informed decision.??

Apart from the medical industry, other departments that can benefit from cultural competence learning are:

• Corporations
• Governmental organizations
• Non-profit organizations
• Educational institutions
• Police and armed forces

Choose the right learning path for you or your team

While trying to be informed on cultural competency, you must have cultural humility and self-awareness.

Since it is practically not feasible to be a master of culture in every demographic, you must possess the humility to admit that you aren’t an expert and be willing to raise queries. This disposition to readily ask questions and embrace the opportunities to learn can go a long way in cultivating respect for cultural differences.

Furthermore, you should commit to self-assessment and self-critique to have an open mind, be empathetic and be conscious of your own unconscious bias while interacting with diverse groups.

These preparatory mindsets would ensure successful diversity education. At CoachDiversity Institute, we help aspiring leaders, individuals, and coaches commit to ongoing professional education through ICF accredited diversity coach certifications such as:

• Associate Diversity Coach
• Certified Professional Diversity Coach
• Advanced Coaching Certification?

We also offer specialized diversity services for corporations, non-profits, government organizations, and executives (one-on-one coaching).

Partaking in diversity coaching builds stronger and more effective teams. It makes relationship management fruitful and minimizes misunderstandings. Workplaces could broaden their range of skills and perspectives and expand to new markets.