Improving Cultural Competency
This is such an important topic and one that can have an extremely positive or negative impact on our professional career. The first step in improving cultural competency is understanding ethnocentrism. Garthwait defines ethnocentrism as believing one’s own cultural is superior to another’s. Having knowledge of ethnocentrism will help me identify when it is happening and take the necessary steps to lessen its affects. Self-examination may not identify my gaps in cultural competency, for this reason I will look to peers, co-works, and supervisors to assist me in areas that need attention. It is easy to rationalize faults and ignore them, more difficult to do so when they are presented to us by someone we have a relationship with. I cannot close