Diversity and Cultural Competency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Abstract

Health disparities in the United States have been well documented over the past several decades and continue to affect the American population. As the world becomes more diverse, it is imperative that the health care professional workforce is trained to care for the diversifying patient population, striving to improve health disparities in the United States and worldwide. Improving the diversity within the health care professional workforce likely will aid in emphasizing the importance of cultural competency of health care professionals, with the development of programs aimed at cultural competency training and assessment.

Keywords: Cultural competency; Diversity; Gender; Health disparity; Humanitarian mission; Race; Underrepresented minority.