Cultural sensitivity training among foreign medical graduates

Objectives To examine the effectiveness of culture sensitivity training for foreign-trained medical graduates licensed to practice in Ontario, Canada. Design A study of pretest-post-test design was conducted to determine the e ffect of cultural sensitivity training on newly immigrated physicians licen sed in Canada. Twenty-four physicians, those who had passed the medical lic ensing exam in 1996 and had not yet started their residency program, were g iven 15 hours of cultural sensitivity training and were considered the expe rimental group. This group was compared with a control group of 24 physicia ns who had passed the licensing exam and were in the process of completing residency. Setting University of Toronto. Subjects Foreign-trained medical graduates. Results Both groups completed the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory bot h before and after the training of the experimental group. Statistical sign ificance in three subscales of the Open-Mindedness/Flexibility, Emotional R esilience and Perceptual Acuity dimensions were demonstrated in the experim ental group as compared with the control group. Conclusions In order for Canada to mould professional and effective physici ans great care must be taken in the design and process of cultural sensitiv ity programmes to enhance both knowledge and skills. Follow-up should be un dertaken to compare their effectiveness with the control group.