Cultural competency
At the beginning of this resource you will have seen reference made to the concept of cultural competency. This addresses how services are provided to, and experienced by minority ethnic carers, service users and patients. It reflects a range of policy and legislation embodying the principles of social justice, social inclusion, achieving equality and respect for diversity.
The following model represents various stages an individual, team or organisation will progress through in working towards a culturally competent service.
Model of cultural competency
| Unconscious incompetence | Characterised by a complete lack of awareness that a need exists and therefore no effort or resources are expended to address it. |
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| Conscious incompetence | Characterised by an awareness that a need exists but there is little or no knowledge about how to address it. This may also be compounded by a lack of resources and/or a lack of strategic direction/leadership. |
| Conscious competence | Characterised by a conscious effort to ensure that all aspects of an individual’s and organisation’s practice identify, respect and respond to differing needs. This may be supplemented by the availability of additional resources and strong leadership. |
| Unconscious competence | Characterised by good practice having become so ingrained in both individual and organisational practice that it has become ‘second nature’. This may be supplemented by the continuing availability of resources to ensure ongoing development and sustainability. |
Cultural competency addresses how services are provided to, and experienced by minority ethnic carers, service users and patients. This learning model encompasses the attitudes, approaches and practices of both indiviuals and organisations, and represents the various stages they will progress through when working towards a culturally competent service.