Useful instructional module on the American Medical Students Association website. Addresses these questions: What does it mean to be culturally competent? How do physicians-in-training perform a cultural assessment? Isn't being a good physician enough to treat everyone? The patient doesn't speak English, now what?

"Diversity Rx is a clearinghouse of information on how to meet the language and cultural needs of minorities, immigrants, refugees and other diverse populations seeking health care." Highlights why language and culture are important in the provision of health care. Sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures, Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

The EthnoMed site is produced by the Harborview Medical Center and "contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and other related issues pertinent to the health care of recent immigrants to Seattle, many of whom are refugees fleeing war-torn parts of the world." Culture specific information includes that provided for Amharic, Cambodian, chinese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Mexican, Oromo, Somali, Tigrean, and Vietamese groups.

"The mission of the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) is to increase the capacity of health care and mental health programs to design, implement and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems." Includes links to valuable resources.

This is a free, online course provided for health professionals from the National Library of Medicine and other agencies. It consists of 5 modules and takes approximately 5 hours to complete. It is designed to improve patient communication; increase awareness of health literacy, cultural competency, and low English proficiency; and to implement patient-centered communication practices to address those areas.