THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN SERBIAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS - A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Today, as Serbia becomes a more ethnically and racially diverse nation, health care providers need to respond to patients' varied perspectives, values, and behaviors about health and well-being. Failure to understand and manage social and cultural differences may have significant health consequences for minority groups in particular. The field of cultural competence is relatively new and has become a part of a strategy to reduce disparities in access to and quality of health care in the United States, Canada and Australia. This paper will discuss the importance of introducing the concept of cultural competence in Serbian medical schools.