As the population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, health care providers will continue to care for more patients from different cultures and backgrounds. One of the biggest challenges will be communication across cultures. MAO has developed several cross-cultural initiatives including courses, medical grand rounds and a film series.

Multicultural Education
Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, MAO’s program director for multicultural education, has worked with a team* to develop online courses that help health care providers and staff interact with patients from different cultures. There are two versions of the clinician course --- one tailored specifically for physicians, the other for nurses and case managers. Department of Medicine residents are required to complete the physician course during their ambulatory care training unit. There is also a health care staff version of the course, which is appropriate for administrators, billing staff, lab technicians and others who interact with patients in a nonclinical setting.

* Joseph R. Betancourt, MD, MPH, Director, The Disparities Solutions Center; Alexander R. Green, MD, MPH Senior Faculty, The Disparities Solutions Center; and J. Emilio Carrillo, MD, MPH, Vice President of Community Health Programs at New York Presbyterian Hospital

Cross-Cultural Film Series
The goal of the Cross-Cultural Film Series, co-sponsored by MAO and the Disparities Solutions Center, is to use film— popular and documentary – to present themes related to cross-cultural health care and racial/ethnic disparities to a broad audience of health care professionals. The series also includes discussions with experts and in some cases, the filmmakers.

Past DSC/MAO Film Series

"La Ciudad" held on May 5th, 2008. This film was followed by a panel discussion and a question and answer period with director David Riker and Drs. Jim O’Connell and Elizabeth Barnett.

"Miss Evers' Boys" held on January 17th, 2008. This film is based on the true story of the US Governement's 1932 Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments. Dr. Valerie Stone, Director of the Women's HIV/AIDS Program and the Primary Care Residency Program at MGH and Dr. Michael Byrd, medical historian from the Harvard School of Public Health and a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center commented on the historical context of this study, and how it fits in with African-American health care in the US.