TEACHING STUDENTS TO RECOGNIZE DIVERSITY, PROVIDE EQUITABLE CARE, AND PROMOTE INCLUSION: ARE WE THERE YET?

A. Chaudry¹, J. Karges-Brown², A. MacCabe³, A. Adamson³

¹Langston University, School of Physical Therapy, Langston, Oklahoma, United States, ²University of South Dakota, Department of Physical Therapy, Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, ³Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, School of Physical Therapy, Yakima, United States

Background: The 21^st century physiotherapy profession faces the unique challenge of delivering culturally competent care to a diverse patient/client population by a minimally diverse physiotherapy professional (PTP) pool. This lack of diversity in PTPs poses a serious concern especially when PTPs are unable to recognize and include a diverse patient’s/client’s needs related to healthcare decision making and equitable delivery. Therefore, improving diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI) in the physiotherapy profession is critical, though the responsibility for this must rest on the shoulders of physiotherapy education programs.

Purpose: The need for academic programs to graduate students able to appreciate diversity, be equitable in patient care, and pursue inclusive patient practices led two physical therapist education (PTE) programs in U.S.A. to design an innovative culturally sensitive plan of approach of teaching DEI that explained the influence of cultural beliefs and practices on health care decision-making, demonstrated experiential formats to strengthen teaching DEI content in physiotherapy curricula, and formulated an external assessment mechanism for affirmation of learning.

Methods: Two PTE programs across U.S.A. took on the challenge of systematically teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion in unique, varied experiential formats for facilitated active student learning. The two PTE programs began with the same conceptual framework, thougheach PTE program devised program specific teaching/learning strategies on diversity education that were progressively integrated with diversity exposure over the entire three-year curriculum to maximize retention. The students were introduced to diversity awareness, recognition, and respect for example, during initial program orientation through interactive diversity recognition and awareness exercises directed at self & peers followed by equity education in year one didactic courses in the behavioral sciences such as Critical Thinking and Human Interaction (Program One); and Professional Conduct and Ethics (Program Two). In year II students demonstrated ability to employ tools for recognizing diversity, promoting equity, and providing evidentiary support of inclusion as future clinicians and practice administrators during simulated exercises in courses like Organization & Management, and through self-reflection/assessment during clinical education seminar activities in year III(Program One); and with various interprofessional events and seminar sessions (Program Two), as well as in the Management course during year III (Program Two).. Finally, in year III, students also exhibited DEI cultural competence as assessed by external clinical instructors at affiliated clinical facilities during their terminal discipline specific clinical internships.

Results: Clinical Instructor assessment of students in two PTE programs over past two years have yielded 100% clinical instructor satisfaction of student cultural competence at entry level practice in each of the student’s terminal internships as noted on the student clinical performance instrument ratings at end of each internship.

Conclusions: DEI education and success in training students in PTE programs is a progressive and continuous process that has enabled both DPT programs to demonstrate excellence and remain committed to graduating students employing equitable patient inclusion practices regardless of patient diversity.

Implications: The innovative progressive teaching/learning DEI education program can be easily modified by any PTE program to train its students to appreciate diversity, be equitable in patient care, and pursue inclusive patient practices as graduating physiotherapists.

Funding acknowledgements: None required

Keywords:
Diversity-equity-inclusion
Cultural competency
Assessment

Topics:
Professional issues: diversity and inclusion
Education: methods of teaching & learning
Education: clinical

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: The review of program information is considered a quality assessment measure to ensure meeting accreditation needs. Thus, IRB approval is not needed.