Culturally competent person-centred care

This page signposts you to key learning resources, tools and guidance that will help you define what is meant by ’culture’ and to see how it impacts a person’s values, beliefs, behaviours and decision making about their health. The resources will help you develop your culturally competent person-centred practice, and your role in addressing health inequalities and improving patient safety. You will learn about transforming relationships with patients, colleagues, the public and different communities by demonstrating dignity and respect.

This programme explores how culturally competent communication is essential to improving the use of medicines, patient safety and the health and wellbeing of people we interact with. People with lived experience of prejudice, discrimination, and inequality provide their tips on culturally appropriate language to reduce the risk of causing offence and promote a sense of belonging, inclusion, dignity and respect.

Learning Outcomes:

• distinguish between the terms culture, ethnicity, race and cultural competence
• summarise the reasons for constructing a new dialogue for interacting with diverse communities and cultural groups
• list the barriers to developing culturally competent communication in person-centred care
• define the term microaggression and list the different types
• identify examples of culturally inappropriate language and behaviour used in microaggressions
• recognise key words and phrases to use in culturally competent person-centred interactions
• describe how to respond with dignity and respect to culturally inappropriate behaviour, language or microaggressions
• explain how culturally competent person-centred care can contribute to effective use of medicines, improved patient safety and health outcomes
• apply the principles of language for culturally competent person-centred care to a patient consultation to identify best practice.

By completing these modules, you will be able to define what is meant by culture and the impact it can have on a person’s health. You will learn about the impact of your own beliefs, values and cultural roots on the care of people who are not from your own social or cultural group. You will also learn how to adapt your communication skills to deliver culturally competent person-centred care.

In this programme, you will learn about health inequalities and how they affect people. The programme will show you how to identify the needs of your local population and provide a tailored service to meet them. You will also learn how to work with the multidisciplinary team to manage and prevent long-term conditions while reducing health inequalities.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• describe what is meant by health inequalities and how health inequalities can affect individuals
• explain pharmacy teams’ unique role in addressing health inequalities by delivering health promotion, prevention and improvement interventions to prevent and support the management of long-term health conditions in the community
• recognise how pharmacy can work with other local organisations and members of the local community in order to enable better access to healthcare services
• use the knowledge that you have gained about the needs of your local population in order to provide a more tailored and individualised service
• apply what you have learnt to deliver personalised care to those who access your services, recognising both the positive and negative impacts that these interactions may have on each person.

This e-learning uses real-life stories to illustrate some of the challenges the medically under-served face in managing their medicines. It has been co-produced by a team of researchers including Nottingham University and the National Institute for Health Research.

This is a downloadable programme that enables you to describe the key communication and consultation skills and techniques required for person-centred care. You will learn how to explore a person’s beliefs, ideas, concerns and expectations and tailor the consultation to help them get the best from their medicines and to make informed health and lifestyle choices. The programme also develops your skills in engaging the person in shared decision making and enabling them to be a true partner in the consultation.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• explain the concept of person-centred care
• describe the key communication and consultation skills and techniques required to conduct patient-centred care
• apply methods to assess your own practice and identify areas of improvement
• support patients, by using a patient-centred approach, to help them get the best from their medicines and/or in making healthy lifestyle choices
• further develop your practice by exploring tools and techniques, such as health coaching.

This is a video-based programme where you will watch experts demonstrating the key phrases, skills and techniques for a person-centred approach to consultations. The interactive activities will help you apply your learning to practice and make best use of the time during a consultation. You will also be able to explain the concept of clinical empathy and how to demonstrate this in practice.

Learning Outcomes:

• apply key phrases to facilitate a patient-centred approach to your consultation
• demonstrate appropriate skills and behaviours to ensure the best use of time in the consultation
• explain the concept of clinical empathy and how it can be demonstrated
• rate consultation skills and techniques more confidently in preparation for the Consultation skills for pharmacy practice assessment.

This programme looks at some of the issues that the transgender and non-binary community face when accessing healthcare services. The interview panel address these issues in relation to community pharmacy practice and discuss some of the measures pharmacy can take to provide an inclusive and supportive person-centred service for people in the transgender and non-binary community.

Learning Outcomes:

By watching this interview and completing the associated activities in the programme you should be able to:

• describe some of the issues the transgender and non-binary community face within healthcare
• introduce measures to make your pharmacy more inclusive and a safe space for the transgender and non-binary people accessing your services
• demonstrate a team approach to supporting transgender and non-binary people with health and social care issues.

This distance learning programme will enable you to support people with a learning disability and their families to manage behaviours that challenge, in line with National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance. It will also empower you to adopt a holistic approach to medicines optimisation to help people with a learning disability to be involved in the consultation when they can and to make the most of their medicines.

Learning Outcomes:

• categorise a range of learning disabilities and the differences in capability that can occur in each of these
• describe key policy drivers that support change in the management of people with a learning disability
• explain consent to a person with a learning disability and recognise when to involve family members, carers and support workers in the consultation
• demonstrate patient-centred consultation skills and behaviours to meet the needs of people with a learning disability
• promote physical health and wellbeing and support patients to manage their concurrent physical health conditions
• identify people with a learning disability and concurrent mental health disorder and provide them with advice and support
• support people with a learning disability and their families to manage behaviour that challenges, in line with National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance
• explain the importance of a holistic approach to medicines optimisation as a strategy to help people with a learning disability make the most of their medicines.

In this programme you will consider what is different about consulting with people with mental health problems. You will also recognise the impact of stigma and discrimination experienced by those with mental health problems and how to adapt your consultation style to address their needs and concerns.

Learning Outcomes:

• describe the mental health treatment gap and the importance of parity of esteem (valuing mental health equally with physical health)
• recognise the impact of stigma and discrimination experienced by those with mental health problems
• select the key national practice standards most applicable to pharmacy consultations with people with mental health problems
• reflect on your consultations with people experiencing mental health problems
• maximise the effectiveness of your consultations in this field by applying person-centred skills and behaviours
• identify possible risks in your consultations with people with mental health problems.

This learning will support you to adopt a person-centred approach to involving people with dementia in consultations and decisions about their treatment and health.

Learning Outcomes:

• discuss the importance and benefits of involving people with dementia in consultations and decisions about their treatment and health
• describe the skills and techniques needed to engage and communicate effectively with people with dementia
• identify some key national practice standards most applicable to pharmacy consultations with people with dementia
• recognise and address the challenges of a three-way consultation
• apply the knowledge, behaviours and person-centred skills needed to maximise the effectiveness of your consultations with people with dementia.

Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions, which have an impact on people's daily life - including school, work, and relationships. As a pharmacy professional, you are well placed to identify the individual needs of every person to provide person-centred care and ensure the environment where you are providing a service is inclusive. 

This programme aims to enable pharmacy professionals to make a positive difference in everyday practice to support autistic people and people living with ADHD, as well as those supporting them such as parents, carers and other advocates. 

This CPPE programme builds on content in the elearning for healthcare Oliver McGowan training programme. The Oliver McGowan training programme is the UK government's recommended training for health and social care staff who work with autistic people and people with a learning disability.   

We recommend that you complete the e-learning portion of the Oliver McGowan training before you start with this CPPE programme. It should take you approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete. 

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• identify the similarities and differences of autism and ADHD 
• apply principles of inclusive environment design to improve access to healthcare for autistic people and people with ADHD
• develop consultation techniques to support health promotion with autistic people and people with ADHD
• conduct person-centred consultations with autistic people, people with ADHD and carers 
• use a person-centred strategy to support people to maintain access to their medicines 
• signpost autistic people and people with ADHD to appropriate local support charities or resources.

This e-assessment is linked with the CPPE Health inequalities e-learning programme and assesses you on the learning outcomes within that programme.

Why should I do this assessment?

This e-assessment completes the learning you began with the CPPE Health inequalities e-learning programme. Access and successful completion will contribute to your own personal development plan, be recorded in your My CPPE record and will enable you to complete a CPD entry on the learning. It may also provide evidence for achieving competencies in the different competency frameworks that apply across your career.

This e-assessment is linked with our Autism and ADHD: Supporting inclusive person-centred care e-learning programme. It is designed to assess you on the programme’s learning outcomes.

Why should I do this assessment?

This e-assessment completes the learning you began with our Autism and ADHD: Supporting inclusive person-centred care e-learning programme. Access and successful completion will contribute to your own personal development plan, be recorded in your My CPPE record and will enable you to complete a revalidation record on the learning. It may also provide evidence for achieving competencies in the different competency frameworks that apply across your career. If you are working towards completing a Declaration of Competence for a pharmacy service, successful completion of this assessment may provide evidence of your learning.

Mind the gap is a clinical handbook of signs and symptoms on black and brown skin. The project aims to highlight the lack of diversity in medical education, particularly in dermatology.

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This document describes a collaborative teaching intervention between the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry at the University of Manchester and the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE), on developing cultural competence in first-year MPharm students. The intervention describes an overview of the workshop content which embeds sections of the CPPE Culturally competent communication for person-centred care e-learning. The authors also describe the evaluation of the intervention and impact on learners’ confidence in culturally competent person-centred communication and care.