Recommendations for Serving Hmong Patients in Minneapolis Medical Center - Prof. John Burd, Papers of Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Download Recommendations for Serving Hmong Patients in Minneapolis Medical Center - Prof. John Burd and more Papers Introduction to Cultural Anthropology in PDF only on Docsity! Global Encounters ANT 185/AA185 Fall 2000 First segment paper topics Please write a 1400-1600 word paper on one of the following topics. We are looking for papers that a) Address fully the topic you have chosen, including all its parts b) Are well organized and clearly written c) Use examples and concepts drawn from the lecture, reading, discussion, and films (at least two examples and/or concepts per page) d) Refer to sources correctly, according to the guidelines set forth in the syllabus e) Are the correct length Topic 1 The administrative board of Minneapolis’ Medical Center has long been divided over how best to serve the large Hmong community there. Some members of the board believe that given the hospital’s tight budget, it is not efficient to accommodate special needs the Hmong may have, in terms of cultural advisors, interpreters, special counselling, and so on. These board members are also reluctant to see any revisions in the guidelines governing physician interactions with patients. Others on the board, however, feel differently, arguing that investment in additional resources and some revision of the guidelines are important steps in serving the Hmong community better, and in preserving the sanity of the hospital staff. Now your advice has been sought by the board. You have been asked to prepare a 1400-1600 word report that recommends to the hospital how best to serve, and respond to, Hmong patients. Make a set of recommendations, and back them up. You may, for example, recommend new guidelines for assessing “compliance” with physician requirements, for communicating diagnoses, or for seeking and getting agreements to medical interventions such as surgery. You might recommend that the hospital invest in on-call cultural interpretive staff. Alternatively, you may argue instead that any such change has unclear benefits, and you might therefore suggest that the hospital do no more than to appoint a special committee to analyze the possible benefits and costs of such changes. Or perhaps you will recommend that no changes be considered at all. Whatever you recommend, you must build a careful argument for the policy recommendation you are making, drawing upon the cases and concepts you have studied in this segment of the course.