Cultural competency definition

Cultural competence is not a separate capability, but a truly integrated intelligence that is part of and woven into every other skill and competency. I consider cultural competence to encompass multiple types of intelligence—social and emotional (Was-serman. Chapter 4, this volume). It requires the ability to use head, heart, and hand (Hayles, Chapter 2), as well as having cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support appropriate and effective interaction in a variety of cultural contexts (see the definition of intercultural competence in Bennett, Chapter 5). 

While working definitions of cultural competency in community venues have been available for more than a decade, the implementation, measurement, and attainment of cultural competency in clinical practice have been more elusive. It may be argued that cultural competency is a relative concept. That is, unlike other standards to be attained such as licensure or certification, cultural competency is an ongoing process and a dynamic, constantly changing one. In this way, it is possible that a mental health professional working at a school may seem culturally competent at one specific moment but culturally incompetent at another. 

The value of cultured stem cells to toxicology is in their promise as a continuous source of cells that can be induced to express a chosen cell-type-specific mature phenotype. This achievement would address two current limitations in safety testing scarcity of metabolically competent human systems and use of experimental animals. Numerous culture additives and conditions have been identified that cause commitment and partial differentiation along specific lineages, such as retinoic-acid-induced neuronal commitment of mouse embryonic stem cells. However, definition of conditions that produce fully differentiated cells with cell-type-specific function quantitatively similar to that of intact tissue remains problematic and is a high-priority research area in toxicology. 

Numerous deflnitions have been proposed of safety culture (e.g. Flin et al. 2000 Pidgeon and O Leary 1994 Zohar 1980). The most widely accepted definition is the one proposed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI 1993 23) safety culture is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies and patterns of behaviour that determine the... 

Others have dehned a safety culture as the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behavior that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organization s health and safety management (HSC, 1993, p. 23). Another widely used definition of safety culture, developed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations, identi-hes it as the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behavior that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organization s health and safety management. Organizations with a positive safety culture are characterized by communications founded on mutual trust, shared perceptions of the importance of safety, and confidence in the efficacy of preventive measures. 

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