Development of professional tolerance in medical students through professionally-oriented foreign language training

Abstract

Global sociocultural transformations in the modern world are associated with expansive digitalisation and its impact on human life. Given the advantages of digital technology development, a number of significant problems arise, in particular, social differentiation, commercialisation of socionomic professions, information consumerism, emotional estrangement due to the virtualisation of communication, a shift in value orientations, replacement of traditional moral norms with their destructive simulacra. There is a clear need for intensification of educational activities in higher education focused on the humanisation of public consciousness, the promotion of social cohesion and the development of the moral backbone of an individual. Hence, it is necessary to refer to the theoretical and methodological foundations of tolerance development in students. The aim of this article is to clarify the concept of professional tolerance of a doctor and describe the strategy of its development in students in the process of foreign language training. Considering the issue of professional education of future doctors, the authors note that the vector of students' spiritual and moral development is determined by the values, attitudes, and norms of medical ethics and deontology. Herewith, the principle of tolerance is of the basic ones since professional medical practice is based on regular interpersonal interaction. The authors define the concept of a doctor's professional tolerance as the willingness to provide patients with high-quality medical care regardless of the heterogeneity of socio-cultural factors and subjective personal aspects. This concept assumes the doctor's tact, empathy, psychological flexibility and poise. The proposed strategy for the development of professional medical tolerance in students via professionally-oriented foreign language training involves the holistic formation of its cognitive, affective and conative components through the educational content and the parity in subject-subject interaction. In the development of the cognitive component, considerable importance is ascribed to supplementing the basic educational materials by authentic content of social and professional orientation. The connecting link of the development of cognitive and affective components is the identification and levelling of stereotypes and prejudices regarding socially significant diseases. The basis for the development of the affective component is pedagogical tolerance, a favourable educational environment, interactive activities at classes, and the facilitation of students' reflection. The development of the conative component of tolerance is directly tied to the development of professional communicative competence of future doctors: the study and development of various speech cliches in the format of interaction with patients; revision of politeness formulas; practicing non-verbal communication means in playing out quasi-professional situations; mastering the speech norms “plain language” and “people-first language”.