Awareness of a lack of understanding | “In terms of race, I think I’ve become even more conscious that I’m going to have great difficulty understanding [certain people’s] experience because it’s so different from mine, and that they may not feel all that comfortable with me, or they may feel that I have the inability to understand. I guess I sort of had a view of myself as a fairly open person so maybe I think I should be okay, when maybe I’m not.” |
Awareness of acting out of assumptions | “You have blinders to certain things that you do culturally. You always do [them], and occasionally you’ll trip. I guess I just do what I always do, which is I say what I’ve just done. I say, ‘Okay, I guess I did this,’ then try and talk about it.” |
| “I mentioned to somebody, ‘Are you sexually active?’ And the person said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘What are you using for birth control?’ And she just kind of looked at me, and there was a very awkward silence. I can’t remember how it came out, but she was a lesbian. It was one of those things; again, I felt very uncomfortable. And I said, ‘I’m sorry for the assumption.’ And, you know, you learn from your mistakes.” |
Learning about others | “Continuing education, teaching yourself things about cross-cultural medicine, is very important. There are really good articles that will give you a different [perspective]. Educating yourself on other races is really important.” |
Focusing on the individual | “I try to stay focused on the patient, and to try and attend to how they are and what they’re needing.” |