The Physician Assistant Program will host a panel on diversity in healthcare.
It is the first time this panel has been done with this group of students. Cultural sensitivity is a new trend in medical education within the past five to ten years.
“When we see patients in the clinic, so much of a patient’s culture and background plays a part in how their wishes are carried out, what they believe about diagnoses, and especially how they feel about treatments,” said Amie Torres, principal faculty of the PA program. “I think a lot of providers don’t have that as part of their education process. We want students to see that culture plays a huge role in diagnosis and treatment for patients.”
The panel includes diverse speakers, including Russ Tallchief, director of student engagement, inclusion and multiculturalism, representing the Native American community, students and members of the LGBTQ community.
“By learning from the first-hand experiences shared by the members of the panel, we will be better equipped to care for our future patients of varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Taylor Henderson, physician assistant studies senior. “I am ecstatic to see what future programming our faculty brings to the OCU campus.”
The panel will be hosted on 1-3 p.m. Jan. 27 in Room 109 in Sarkey’s Science and Mathematics Center.
Leave a Reply