Integration of racial, cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors into a gastrointestinal pathophysiology course.
OBJECTIVE
Our study describes a faculty development program to encourage the integration of racial, cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors such as obesity, inability to pay for essential medications, the use of alternative medicine, dietary preferences, and alcoholism in a gastrointestinal pathophysiology course.


METHODS
We designed a 1-hour faculty development session with longitudinal reinforcement of concepts. The session focused on showing the relevance of racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic factors to gastrointestinal diseases, and encouraged tutors to take an active and pivotal role in discussion of these factors. The study outcome was student responses to course evaluation questions concerning the teaching of cultural and ethnic issues in the course as a whole and by individual tutorials in 2004 (pre-faculty development) and in 2006 to 2008 (post-faculty development).


RESULTS
Between 2004 and 2008, the proportion of students reporting that "Issues of culture and ethnicity as they affect topics in this course were addressed" increased significantly (P = .000). From 2006 to 2008, compared with 2004, there was a significant increase in the number of tutors who "frequently" taught culturally competent care according to 60% or greater of their tutorial students (P = .003). The tutor's age, gender, prior tutor experience, rank, and specialty did not significantly impact results.


CONCLUSIONS
An innovative faculty development session that encourages tutors to discuss racial, cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic issues relevant to both care of the whole patient and to the pathophysiology of illness is both effective and applicable to other preclinical and clinical courses.
Shields
Helen M
HM
Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. hshields@bidmc.harvard.edu
Leffler
Daniel A
DA
White
Augustus A
AA
Hafler
Janet P
JP
Pelletier
Stephen R
SR
O'farrell
Richard P
RP
Llerena-Quinn
Roxana
R
Hayward
Jane N
JN
Salamone
Sheila
S
Lenco
Andrea M
AM
Blanco
Paola G
PG
Peters
Antoinette S
AS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult