Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel

Anette Wu; Vinay Maddula; Jasmine Singh; Mandeep Gill Sagoo; Chung Liang Chien; Richard Wingate; Heike Kielstein; Hannes Traxler; Cecilia Brassett; Jens Waschke; Fransziska Vielmuth; Takeshi Sakurai; Mina Zeroual; Jorgen Olsen; Salma El-Batti; Suvi Viranta-Kovanen; Shuji Kitahara; Kevin Keay; Carol Kunzel; Paulette Bernd; Geoffroy P.J.C. Noël

doi:10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9

Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel

Anette Wu^*, Vinay Maddula, Jasmine Singh, Mandeep Gill Sagoo, Chung Liang Chien, Richard Wingate, Heike Kielstein, Hannes Traxler, Cecilia Brassett, Jens Waschke, Fransziska Vielmuth, Takeshi Sakurai, Mina Zeroual, Jorgen Olsen, Salma El-Batti, Suvi Viranta-Kovanen, Shuji Kitahara, Kevin Keay, Carol Kunzel, Paulette BerndGeoffroy P.J.C. Noël

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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
Pages (from-to)	1441-1451
Number of pages	11
Journal	Medical Science Educator
Volume	31
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9
Publication status	Published - Aug 2021

Keywords

Cultural competency
Global health education
International collaboration
Internationalization
Internationalization at home
Internationalization of medical education
Medical students

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10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9

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Wu, A., Maddula, V., Singh, J., Sagoo, M. G., Chien, C. L., Wingate, R., Kielstein, H., Traxler, H., Brassett, C., Waschke, J., Vielmuth, F., Sakurai, T., Zeroual, M., Olsen, J., El-Batti, S., Viranta-Kovanen, S., Kitahara, S., Keay, K., Kunzel, C., ... Noël, G. P. J. C. (2021). Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel. Medical Science Educator, 31(4), 1441-1451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9

@article{02b4903b090346059defe1eb4beaf015,

title = "Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students{\textquoteright} Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel",

abstract = "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{\textquoteright} 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.",

keywords = "Cultural competency, Global health education, International collaboration, Internationalization, Internationalization at home, Internationalization of medical education, Medical students",

author = "Anette Wu and Vinay Maddula and Jasmine Singh and Sagoo, {Mandeep Gill} and Chien, {Chung Liang} and Richard Wingate and Heike Kielstein and Hannes Traxler and Cecilia Brassett and Jens Waschke and Fransziska Vielmuth and Takeshi Sakurai and Mina Zeroual and Jorgen Olsen and Salma El-Batti and Suvi Viranta-Kovanen and Shuji Kitahara and Kevin Keay and Carol Kunzel and Paulette Bernd and No{\"e}l, {Geoffroy P.J.C.}",

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: {\textcopyright} 2021, International Association of Medical Science Educators. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9",

language = "English",

volume = "31",

pages = "1441--1451",

journal = "Medical Science Educator",

issn = "2156-8650",

publisher = "Springer New York",

number = "4",

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Wu, A, Maddula, V, Singh, J, Sagoo, MG, Chien, CL, Wingate, R, Kielstein, H, Traxler, H, Brassett, C, Waschke, J, Vielmuth, F, Sakurai, T, Zeroual, M, Olsen, J, El-Batti, S, Viranta-Kovanen, S, Kitahara, S, Keay, K, Kunzel, C, Bernd, P & Noël, GPJC 2021, 'Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel', Medical Science Educator, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 1441-1451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9

TY - JOUR

T1 - Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel

AU - Wu, Anette

AU - Maddula, Vinay

AU - Singh, Jasmine

AU - Sagoo, Mandeep Gill

AU - Chien, Chung Liang

AU - Wingate, Richard

AU - Kielstein, Heike

AU - Traxler, Hannes

AU - Brassett, Cecilia

AU - Waschke, Jens

AU - Vielmuth, Fransziska

AU - Sakurai, Takeshi

AU - Zeroual, Mina

AU - Olsen, Jorgen

AU - El-Batti, Salma

AU - Viranta-Kovanen, Suvi

AU - Kitahara, Shuji

AU - Keay, Kevin

AU - Kunzel, Carol

AU - Bernd, Paulette

AU - Noël, Geoffroy P.J.C.

N1 - 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. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Cultural competency

KW - Global health education

KW - International collaboration

KW - Internationalization

KW - Internationalization at home

KW - Internationalization of medical education

KW - Medical students

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U2 - 10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9

DO - 10.1007/s40670-021-01332-9

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85107611382

SN - 2156-8650

VL - 31

SP - 1441

EP - 1451

JO - Medical Science Educator

JF - Medical Science Educator

IS - 4

ER -

Alternatives to Student Outbound Mobility—Improving Students’ Cultural Competency Skills Online to Improve Global Health Without Travel

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