Free CME on Maternal Health Care Available Now
Program Addresses Cultural Competency, Implicit Bias, Other Topics
April 15, 2021, 4:35 p.m. News Staff — HHS’ Office of Minority Health, through the department’s Think Cultural Health initiative, recently launched “Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Maternal Health Care,” a free e-learning program for physicians and other health care professionals. The program, which is being offered independent of industry support, is geared toward clinicians who practice maternal health care and who want to advance health equity and help eliminate maternal health disparities.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Health Rear Adm. Felicia Collins, M.D., M.P.H., said in an OMH blog post last month that the program supports an ongoing action plan to improve maternal health across the United States and generate positive health outcomes for diverse populations.
Collins said clinicians must be equipped to deliver respectful, compassionate, high-quality maternal health care. “It is a matter of life and death,” she said.
Format
The program is divided into four modules that cover
- an introduction to CLAS in maternal health care,
- self-awareness,
- awareness of a patient’s cultural identity and
- providing CLAS in maternal health care.
Each module provides a variety of content. The introduction module, for example, provides brief overviews of several topics and terms, including cultural competency, cultural humility, institutionalized racism and weathering (a term used to describe the processes by which the everyday stress of racism damages one’s body over time).
Other features in each module include short quizzes, case studies, interactive web pages, self-reflection questions and “Tell Me More” boxes that provide additional information, resources and applications of program materials.
Registrants will also have access to a resource library containing links to studies, news articles, online presentations and other relevant material.
Objectives and Credit
Upon completing the program, learners should be able to
- describe at least three ways that providing CLAS can improve quality of care,
- explain how a health care professional’s implicit bias and stereotyping can affect their interactions with patients,
- describe the strategy of individuation, and
- describe how to practice cultural competency and cultural humility.
More detailed learning objectives are listed at the beginning of each module.
To earn credit, learners must register for the program, review the individual modules, obtain a minimum post-test score of 80% and complete the course evaluation. Physicians who complete the program may claim up to 2 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. Similar credit is available for nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified midwives and certified nurse-midwives.
More Information
To enroll in the program, log in or create an account.
For questions about the program, contact Think Cultural Health by email or by phone at (833) 485-1664.