Developing a Culture and Diversity Curriculum: An Integrated Approach

In response to the need to educate future physicians about culture and diversity in healthcare issues, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Medicine developed a culture and diversity curriculum in the late 1990s. Institutional leadership, an approach that integrated learning activities into existing courses and clerkships, and use of local experts overcame initial curriculum implementation challenges of faculty resistance, an already full curriculum and lack of faculty familiarity with the subject area. Learning activities included first year problem-based learning cases, standardized patient scenarios and lecture presentations; third year activities included written reports about patients’ cultural beliefs, standardized patient encounters, and learning points in case discussions. As the college’s overall curriculum has evolved, the format of the learning activities has altered slightly, but the curriculum has continued. The college of medicine is one of six colleges on the MUSC campus. Current efforts in culture and diversity and factors contributing to the successful implementation of culture and diversity curricula across the colleges are described.