Exploring Medical Anthropology, Book Review Example

The text in this chapter discusses a major issue that is plaguing the medical field and forcing medical anthropologists to take action to develop processes and policies that directly impact how medical treatment is issued and applied in the United States and abroad.  That concept is called cultural competency.  Many organizations and anthropologists have attempted to define cultural competency, but as the author affectionately mentions, the best definitions are usually accompanied with a description of what is called cultural incompetence rather than cultural competence.  The only way in which professionals within the field are able to effectively learn to improve medical treatment based on cultural understandings and assumptions or prejudice is by examining how not to act.  The example of the Hmong patient, Lia Lee in Merced, California, is a touching story to examine the many negative impacts of cultural incompetence in the medical community and to stress the need for professionals to adjust their treatment methods.  This does not always mean medical treatment of patients, but it also means social and communicational treatment of patients.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) has attempted to create a comprehensive definition of cultural competency to help direct medical anthropologist and medical professionals in the field to address these negative issues of incompetency-related activities.  The BPHC declares that it medical professionals must “assimilate and implement a set of attitudes, skills, behaviors, and policies that enable organizations and staff to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (Joralemon 96).  This part of the definition directly states that professionals must closely examine situational examples of cross-cultural relations and how cultural competency can be utilized to address issues that can hinder proper medical treatment for patients.  Furthermore, the BPHC continues with its definition by stating that the field must “acquire and use knowledge of health-related beliefs, attitudes, practices, and communication patterns of clients and their families to improve services, strengthen programs, increase community participation, and close the gaps in health status among diverse population groups” (Joralemon 96).  Basically, this latter part of the definition directly institutes a call-to-action for all medical professionals to adequately implement strategies and policies to ensure that the negative issues such as those explained in the Lia Lee case do not occur in future cases.

The overall presence of cultural competency in biomedicine and medical anthropology is to improve communication between practitioner and patient or the patient’s loved ones.  One of the major challenges that Joralemon closely examines is that the medical profession and practitioners are not well-known for self-examination and reflecting upon areas of criticism that may impact their methods.  Medical anthropologists are charged with the task of not only explaining the importance of cultural competence, but helping assist medical professionals throughout all areas of the field to understand the concept and undertake behaviors that help improve medical treatment methods and communications between practitioners and loved ones.  This can often include further education on different cultures, religions and also potential language limitations.  These issues can be experienced in almost any region of the country nowadays; therefore, all medical professionals must be aware of this concept and directly understand how to address issues associated with them to improve their methods.

References

Joralemon, Donald. Exploring Medical Anthropology. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.