The importance of multiculturalism in medical education: a global comparison of perspectives from medical and health professions students at 21 universities.
Anette Wu, Radhika Patel, Jason Luong, Sean McWatt, Rahul Goel, Cecilia Brassett, Jane Dutton, Mandeep Gill Sagoo, Carol Kunzel, Alexander Green, Geoffroy Noel
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Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to quantitatively assess the baseline level of self-perceived cultural competency preparedness and skillfulness among medical and health professions students from 21 universities around the world utilizing a previously validated and standardized testing tool.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: The International Collaboration and Exchange Program (ICEP), a global exchange initiative for junior medical and health professions students spanning 21 universities across four continents.
Participants: A total of 753 students from the 2021 and 2022 ICEP cohorts.
Main outcome measures: Students self-evaluated their cultural competency skills on a 5-point Likert-type scale encompassing different areas of competency. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify contributors to cultural competency levels.
Results: Upon rating how skillful they are at interacting with culturally diverse patients, North American students reported the highest scores with a mean of 3.22, while Australian students showed the lowest score of 2.82. When analyzing students' stages of study, those in clinical years of medical schools scored the highest at 3.29. Significant variations were observed in the cultural competency self-rating scores among students based on their respective regions (p < .005) and program types/stages (p < .05). Notably, students in their clinical years of school consistently rated themselves higher compared to their preclinical counterparts (p < .05). Furthermore, students from Europe displayed elevated self-ratings compared to the other regions (p < .005).
Conclusions: Though these participants represent a highly motivated subgroup of students, potentially limiting result generalizability, the findings emphasize that regional differences exist. Given the multifaceted nature of cultural competency, the results suggest that factors such as educational stage, age, and region may influence students' perceived competency levels.
期刊介绍：
JRSM Open is a peer reviewed online-only journal that follows the open-access publishing model. It is a companion journal to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. The journal publishes research papers, research letters, clinical and methodological reviews, and case reports. Our aim is to inform practice and policy making in clinical medicine. The journal has an international and multispecialty readership that includes primary care and public health professionals.
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