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Student speaks out on cultural sensitivity by Kristen Karig Public Relations  Second-year medical student Wendy Leembruggen likens cultural sensitivity to universal precautions.  “You always glove-up when you’re working with a patient because you don’t know what they’re carrying in their blood,” she said. “The only way to practice cultural sensitivity is to simply ask our patients how they feel. Don’t assume you can judge their beliefs about illness and medicine based on their appearance.” Leembruggen, who is half Indonesian and half Dutch, shared her experiences as a minority medical student during the Asian Pacific Islander (API) American Medical Student Association meeting held in November in San Francisco. She joined other health care professionals participating in a panel on cultural sensitivity.  Her mother’s battle with breast cancer inspired Leembruggen to pursue a career in medicine. “Fourteen years ago, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, her doctor never asked her how she felt about her diagnosis,” Leembruggen said. “If he had she would have said she felt guilty because she thought she exposed herself to it and caught it—a common myth among Asian women.”  “Being open and receptive to concerns like these is key to establishing a dialog and effective communication between doctor and patient,” she continued.  Leembruggen earned her bachelor of chemistry degree from Duke University in 1997. After graduation she spent a year working for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. There she met Japanese-American breast cancer survivor Susan Shinagawa.  “When Susan first found a lump in her breast, her doctor told her ‘Asian women don’t get breast cancer. That lump is nothing to worry about,’” Leembruggen said. “By the time she found another doctor, the cancer had metastasized to her spine, and now she walks with a cane.” As a minority medical student, Leembruggen feels it’s important that she set an example and encourage fellow students and other health care professionals not to perpetuate racial stereotypes.  Shinagawa encouraged Leembruggen’s involvement in the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum, a group that promotes improvement in the health status of Asians and Pacific Islanders nationwide. As a member of the student committee, Leembruggen is helping to establish an education network to provide outreach to communities that have problems with insurance, obtaining medical care and communicating with their physicians. “Many Asian women avoid going to the doctor because they’ve been taught that letting a doctor perform a breast examination, for example, is shameful,” she said. “Cultural myths like these are one of the many issues the forum is attempting to address.”  Her work with the forum led to the invitation to participate in the API student association’s recent meeting. “They needed a medical student to complete the panel on cultural sensitivity,” Leembruggen said.  Although the population of Asian and Pacific Islander medical students probably isn’t large enough to support a local chapter of API AMSA, Leembruggen hopes to link with APIs at other medical schools in the region to form a group on regional basis.  She also devotes time to the Multicultural Student Union and hopes to encourage other API students to become involved with the group.