ANDThe Institute for Continuing Professional

Development at Touro College

The National Jewish Institute for Continuing Professional Education

CULTURALLY COMPETENT CARE

MEDICINE, CULTURE, AND

ETHICS

This course has five central objectives:

1. To gain an appreciation for the diversity of American culture by studying one minority subset.

2. To understand religion’s place within providing culturally competent care.

3. To become familiar with some key principles that guide modern Jewish medical ethics.

4. To demonstrate that Jewish traditions speak to current real-world concerns.

5. To provide a Jewish lens on contemporary medical issues.

1. To gain an appreciation for the diversity of American culture by studying one subset thereof

American society is unique in its multiculturalism. While each ethnicity or minority has its own particular medical mores, by studying those of one culture, we gain awareness for the need to provide culturally competent care to all our patients.

2. To understand religion’s place in providing culturally competent care.

Religion has been seen as an enemy of medicine instead of an ally in the healing process or a comfort in preparing for death.

Appreciating the importance religion may have to your patients will help in understanding the basis for their concerns and choices of treatment.

3. To become familiar with some key principles that guide modern Jewish medical ethics

By looking at precedents from Jewish law, Talmud, and other classic Jewish texts, we will learn to identify these basic principles and how they can be applied to a range of situations. This will aid in understanding patient concerns and facilitate communication with their pastoral counselors.

4. To demonstrate that Jewish traditions speak to current real-world concerns

Many people are under the misimpression that Judaism is an ancient and ossified system with little contemporary relevance. The course will demonstrate that Jewish law’s stable and unchanging core in tandem with flexibility and adaptability, provides applications for ever evolving contemporary situations.

5. To provide a Jewish lens on contemporary medical issues.

Each lesson in the series addresses a particular aspect of medicine, from the question of autonomy and right to refuse treatment to assisted reproduction, the rights of the mentally unstable, issues of confidentiality and genetic testing to organ donation and risky or experimental treatments. Each lesson addresses the prevailing secular ethics as well as what Jewish law has to say.