A PSYCHIATRIC CURRICULUM DIRECTED TO THE CARE OF THE HISPANIC PATIENT

Hispanics are the second-largest ethnic minority group in the United S tates, numbering approximately 20.7 million. This population has disti nct cultural and linguistic characteristics with which psychiatrists s hould be familiar, and psychiatric residents should be taught how to a ppropriately diagnose and treat Hispanic patients. This article descri bes a model curriculum for psychiatric residency training programs tha t addresses the sociodemographic, epidemiological, psychosocial, cultu ral, and behavioral characteristics of Hispanics. The authors strongly recommend that faculty who are knowledgeable and sensitive about Hisp anic culture be available for the supervision and teaching of psychiat ric residents during their training. Supervision should focus on key e ducational issues such as cultural formulation, family dynamics, and o ther factors of importance in clinical psychiatric practice. A bibliog raphy of relevant works is also included.