Jose Ricardo McFaline-Figueroa '09, Jing Chen '09, Amy Johnson '09, Jennifer Hallock '09

CULTURA, which means "culture" in Spanish, is a lively student-run organization on the P&S Campus that is committed to making Columbia medical students better care-givers, both during their four years here and beyond—and we have a lot of fun doing it! Culture is a large part of health, from beliefs to practices and behaviors, and knowing the cultural context in which you are learning medicine provides an extra dimension to your ability to connect with your patients and therefore learn good medicine.

We have organized a handful of opportunities for you, the students of P&S, to enrich your own experience of learning medicine. We invite you to become a part of the community of Washington Heights. This webpage provides some information about the diverse programs we offer throughout the year. They are individually run programs, but they all function under the organization we call CULTURA! If you want to get involved in any of our programs or if you have an idea for a new community program, we encourage you to join us!!

Lecture Series and Workshops

There will be events throughout the year featuring Columbia professors and members of the local community who will speak on cultural competency and issues critical to understanding patients. Last year, students especially enjoyed a small workshop we organized to learn "hands-on" the art of Dominican herbal healing. We talked informally about common health-care beliefs and also about misconceptions in our own patient population.

Spanish Lunches

Practice Spanish with your classmates, faculty and local members of the community. One or two Fridays per month, we come together over food catered by a local Dominican restaurant to improve our language skills while learning about a relevant community or medical issue in Spanish. All activities include lunch and range from speakers, role plays and workshops to informal conversation. This hour gives you a chance to socialize with your classmates while brushing up on language skills. We look forward to seeing all levels of Spanish-speakers, from beginner to fluent.

CULTURA List-Serve

If you think our organization looks interesting but cannot commit to anything right now, feel free to join our general list-serve. Every now and then, we send out cool opportunities you might like to know about -- whether it is helping out in a one-time community service project, taking free salsa dance lessons, going to hear a one-of-a-kind speaker, or just coming to one of our parties. It's no commitment. If you want to be on the list-serve, just contact one of the members of the executive council.