A MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE IN A CONFLICT ZONE: WHAT MEDICAL STUDENTS CAN LEARN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17501/24246700.2021.7101Keywords:
Multiculturalism, lobal citizen competencies, health innovation, conflict resolution, peace, global health, cultural competencyAbstract
As globalization continues, medical educators must acknowledge the increasing need to create safe spaces for students to incorporate global citizen competencies. Short international experiences are a way in which students can acquire these features. The study aimed to evaluate cultural competency learning during an international activity situated in a conflict zone environment that embraces health innovation. The method approach was an explanatory sequential mixed method design. The quantitative instrument was a survey (Cronbach alpha 0.74) with 27 items with 5 Likert scale from totally agree to totally disagree, addressing the four dimensions of cultural competence: conflict resolution, peace appreciation, multiculturalism, and health innovation. The qualitative phase was implemented with individual interviews with participants. A total of 19 medical students from Monterrey and Mexico City with an average age of 22.73 (±3.42) participated in an immersive program for observation, active listening, and analysis of Israeli and Palestine narratives. Descriptive analysis indicated that the most impacted areas were health innovation (4.83 ± 0.032, p<0.001) and multiculturalism (4.80 ± 0.02, p<0.001). Interviews mostly drew positive impressions regarding the development of health innovation and multiculturalism skills. The participation of students in a short trip to a conflict zone conflict inspired them with multicultural skills and a broader perspective regarding innovative problem-solving strategies in healthcare systems.
Downloads
References
AAMC. (2005) Cultural competence education. Retrieved from https://www.aamc.org/system/files/c/2/54338-culturalcomped.pdf
Chongsuvivatwong, V., Chan.Boegli, L., Hasuwannakit, S. (2014). Healing Under Fire: The Case of Southern Thailand. Bangkok, Thailand: The Deep South Relief and Reconciliation (DSRR) Foundation and the Rugiagli Initiative (tRI).
Creswell, J., & Plano, V. (2011). Designing and Conducting Mixed Method Research . California: Sage.
Deardorff, DK. (2009) The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.
Fares, J., Fares, M. Y., & Fares, Y. (2020). Medical schools in times of war: Integrating conflict medicine in medical education. Surgical neurology international, 11(5), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.25259/SNI_538_201
Freitas-Junior R, Santos C, Freitas A, Azevedo G. (2019) An Innovative Educational Strategy to Addressing Cultural Competence in Healthcare for Quilombola Women. Education for Health. 32(3). 146-149. DOI: 10.4103/efh.EfH_255_19
Lambert RF, Wong CA, Woodmansey KF, Rowland B, Horne SO, Seymour B. (2018) A National Survey of U.S. Dental Students' Experiences with International Service Trips. Journal of Dental Education. 82(4), 366–372. DOI: 10.21815/JDE.018.036
Lypson, M. L., Ross, P. T., & Kumagai, A. K. (2008). Medical Students’ Perspectives on a Multicultural Curriculum. Journal of the National Medical Association, 100(9), 1078–1083. doi:10.1016/s0027-9684(15)31448-6
McKinley DW, Williams SR, Norcini JJ, Brownell Anderson M. (2008) International Exchange Programs and U.S. Medical Schools. Academic Medicine. 83(10) S53-S57. DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e318183e351
Merkey RJ, Palombi LC. (2020) Student-reported value of a short-term service-learning trip to Nicaragua. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 12(1): 49–57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2019.10.003
Niccum B, Sarker A, Wolf, S, Trowbridge M. (2017) Innovation and entrepreneurship programs in US medical education: a landscape review and thematic analysis. Medical Education Online. 22(1) doi: doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2017.1360722.
Perkinson MA. (2019) International fieldwork in the age of global aging: Fostering intercultural competence through student research and service provision in a residential care facility for older Guatemalans. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2018.1561445
WHO (2014). Global status report on violence prevention. Luxembourg: World Health Organization.
Wolff, Fabian and Borzikowsky, Christoph. (2018). Intercultural Competence by International Experiences? An Investigation of the Impact of Educational Stays Abroad on Intercultural Competence and Its Facets. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 49(3), 488-514. doi: 10.1177/0022022118754721.
Zanetti, M. L., Dinh, A., Hunter, L., Godkin, M. A., & Ferguson, W. (2014). A longitudinal study of multicultural curriculum in medical education. International journal of medical education, 5, 37–44. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.52ec.d075
