Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Introduction: Student outbound mobility is a major element in internationalization of medical education and global health education. However, this approach is often criticized, as it is inherently inequitable. Internationalization at home is a newer concept that aims to provide students with international skills and experiences without exchange travel. We report detailed outcomes of an international online program during the COVID-19 pandemic, which aimed to include acquisition of cultural awareness and competency—similar to what the students would have obtained if they had travelled abroad. Method: Sixty-eight students from 12 international universities participated in international small peer group collaborative work, and online networking. Perceived improvement of cultural competency using Likert scale and open-ended questions was used as a measure of success. Furthermore, students’ definition of cultural competency in the different countries was obtained. Results: Students improved their cultural competency skills. Data analysis supported statistically significant improvement of the above skills after the program, in comparison to the start of the program. Discussion: Internationalization of medical education can be achieved at home—via structured online peer exchanges—and can provide students with intercultural skills and networking opportunities that are typically achieved via international in-person travel. The above represents a socially just and equitable way to reach all students and can result in improvement of their cultural competency, preparing them for their work in global health, and thereby resulting in improvement of global health.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Journal | Medical Science Educator |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 1441-1451 |
ISSN | 2156-8650 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Drs. Aubrie?Swan Sein and Henry Park from the Center for Education Research and Evaluation at Columbia University for their advice with the questionnaires, Dr. Michael Fortgang for helpful review of the manuscript, and the student leaders of the summer program for their help.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, International Association of Medical Science Educators.
- Cultural competency, Global health education, International collaboration, Internationalization, Internationalization at home, Internationalization of medical education, Medical students
Research areas
Links
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8184130/pdf/40670_2021_Article_1332.pdf
Final published version
ID: 306676881