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Cultural competence isn't a destination; it's a journey that never stops.
The physical therapy profession's transformative power is magnified through a commitment to promoting and practicing a high level of cultural competence in all areas of practice, research, and education. It's the key to our future as relevant health care providers.
Far from being a limited set of prescribed skills, cultural competence is more holistic—"a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables work in cross-cultural situations," according to the CDC. Those cross-cultural situations aren't limited to race or ethnicity—they can also include language, religion, age, gender identification and much more.
While a major component of the cultural competence journey involves understanding and appreciating differences, working toward those "congruent behaviors" also requires individuals to take an honest look at themselves, their own biases, and how those biases may affect the care they provide patients—and the ways they see the world around them. Working toward greater cultural competence demands a willingness to learn and an openness to possibility.
Jan 15, 2020 / Open Access
Achieving cultural competence is a process, not an end point. Individuals and organizations should have an ongoing plan for improvement.
Oct 6, 2020 / Resource
Use these resources within your program or curriculum to teach cultural competence to your physical therapy students.
Sep 20, 2019 / Policies & Bylaws
House position: The American Physical Therapy Association supports cultural competence as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Evidence shows racial and ethnic disparities exist across a range of illnesses and health care services.
We are striving to improve DEI in our profession and association.