Cultural competence in the multidisciplinary rehabilitation setting: are we falling short of meeting needs?

We present issues relevant to rehabilitation providers who wish to develop or improve their cultural competence in their medical setting and interdisciplinary team. Two case scenarios are presented that illustrate the complexities introduced into the medical rehabilitation setting by the increased numbers of minority patients in the United States in the last 20 years. Professional codes of conduct and practice are discussed for 3 rehabilitation disciplines: physiatry, rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology, and nursing.

Congenital and acquired brain injury. 3. Rehabilitation interventions: cognitive, behavioral, and community reentry.

Unlabelled: This self-directed learning module highlights the cognitive and psychosocial adjustment aspects of brain injury. It is part of the chapter on congenital and acquired brain injury in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This article focuses specifically on evaluation and treatment of mood and behavioral impairments after brain injury, treatment of cognitive impairments, efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation, psychosocial impact of a traumatic brain injury on families, and resources available for community reintegration.

Congenital and acquired brain injury. 2. Brain injury rehabilitation: medical management.

Unlabelled: This self-directed learning module focuses on the importance of developing comprehensive problem lists and treatment plans for the patient with acute brain injury. It is part of the chapter on Congenital and Acquired Brain Injury in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This article focuses on general medical management, interpretation of brain injury severity, cranial nerve dysfunction, acute changes in neurologic function, and treatment of spasticity.

Congenital and acquired brain injury. 1. Brain injury: epidemiology and pathophysiology.

Unlabelled: This self-directed learning module highlights recent advances in the understanding of brain injury pathophysiology, epidemiology. severity scales, and treatment interventions to minimize brain injury in adults and children. It is part of the chapter on congenital and acquired brain injury in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Ethnographic analysis of traumatic brain injury patients in the national Model Systems database.

Objective: To compare demographics, injury characteristics, therapy service and intensity, and outcome in minority versus nonminority patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: Twenty medical centers.

Impact of minority status following traumatic spinal cord injury.

Objective: To interpret the data from the Spinal Cord Injury-Model Systems as it applies to demographics, incidence and functional outcomes of minority patients with spinal cord injury.

Design: Retrospective analysis of patients admitted to acute inpatient rehabilitation Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers.

Results: Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations, and proportions were computed for all relevant variables.

How significant is persistent chest pain in a young HIV-positive patient during acute inpatient rehabilitation? a case report.

Chest pain in a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has a broad differential diagnosis including, but not limited to, coronary artery disease, gastroesophageal reflux, fungal esophagitis, and musculoskeletal pain. However, spontaneous pneumothorax must also be added to the list of possibilities. Spontaneous pneumothorax occurs 450 times more frequently in patients with AIDS versus the general population and is now the leading cause of nontraumatic pneumothorax in the urban population, to include both those with and without AIDS.