International electives are recognized as a high-impact practice in clinical education. However, medical students’ actual learning experiences during electives have not been explored fully. Specifically, drawing on language management theory, this exploratory case study investigates students’ perceived learning outcomes and the managing processes by which they gained benefits from cross-cultural learning experiences in international electives. Written reflective reports in a series of e-portfolios were collected from 43 Japanese medical students who participated in a four-week international elective. Moreover, to further explore their emotions and the reasons behind adopting a particular adjustment behaviour, follow-up interviews with 12 students were undertaken soon after they returned home. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the qualitative data were analysed. Their perceived learning outcomes were categorized into seven themes: medical knowledge and skills, communication, career management and development, international healthcare, society and culture, medical education, and personal development. During the programme, they experienced linguistic, sociolinguistic, and sociocultural difficulties, and attempted to overcome them by employing various adjustment strategies, such as meaning-focused coping, social relationship building, management of learning opportunities, communication management, and developing approaches to learning. Managing problems in academic contact situations is not a linear process; it is iterative and cyclical. Since the combination of several strategies was needed depending on the situation, the management process is a context-dependent and complex phenomenon. The findings in this study provide new insights into student participation in short-term international elective programmes in order to develop academic and social support strategies for educators at both home and host institutions.
In modern society, stress caused by relationships and emotions is one of the greatest social problems. Similar to humans, domestic and captive animals live under various stresses.Several stresses have been associated with skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis, but there is a lack of reliable and objective indicators for the characterization of this association. This study aimed to define the changes in fatty acid composition and amino acid concentration in the skin following repeated restraint stress in ICR mice. Mice subjected to 30 min of daily restraint stress for 8 days showed changes in the composition of saturated fatty acids, such as an increase in palmitic acid content, which are the substrates of Δ-9 desaturase. Conversely, unsaturated fatty acids decreased with stress treatment, which appeared to be a result of these fatty acids being the substrate of Δ-6 desaturase. Changes in fatty acid composition after stress treatment may be one of the factors that cause skin inflammation. The water-retention capacity may have been lowered by stress treatment because histidine and leucine, which are natural moisturizing factors, were significantly decreased. The collagen content in the skin gradually decreased after repeated stress treatment. Our results indicate that repeated restraint stress may impact skin health through changes in both the fatty acid composition and amino acid concentration in mice.
PurposeMost physicians, including residents, experience significant emotional distress after making medical 11 errors. As high reliability organizations (HROs), hospitals must not only support physicians' emotional recovery but also promote their learning from errors. Self-disclosure is a process of communication in which individuals reveal information about themselves to others. While many previous studies have focused on investigating the effectiveness of self-disclosure, little is known about the process itself. Therefore, this study aims to explore residents' processes of coping with their emotional distress and learning through self-disclosure after making errors.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 residents in their second year from two Japanese hospitals where informal error conferences guided by senior residents are implemented regularly. In the interview, four core questions were posed regarding the nature of the error/incident, their emotions and behavior after the error, ways of self-disclosure, and the results of error-sharing in the conference. Interview data were thematically analyzed, drawing upon disclosure decision model as the theoretical framework.ResultsFive phases emerged from the analysis: (1) emotional distress and reactions before self-disclosure; (2) self-disclosure to individuals to achieve social rewards; (3) emotional sublimation after self-disclosure to individuals; (4) sharing errors in groups for learning opportunities; and (5) transforming the perspectives on overcoming and learning from errors.ConclusionThis is the study to demonstrate that various types of self-disclosure were embedded in the processes of residents' recovery and learning from medical errors. The study suggests that a better understanding of the processes of residents' coping with their distress and learning from their errors through self-disclosure is fundamental to the creation of a “culture of sharing errors” in hospitals as HROs.
Introduction: Personal statements are important documents in the admission and programme application processes, including international elective programmes, in medical education. However, writing these is challenging for international applicants not only because of their unfamiliarity with this genre but also their English academic writing skills. This study aims to explore the organisation and elaboration of text in personal statements written by Japanese medical students for international elective programme application. Methods: Drawing on genre analysis, the first draft of personal statements written by eight fifth-year medical students at a Japanese university were analysed. The text data were deductively classified into moves and steps, using Chiu’s framework of the personal statement genre. Results: In the introduction, Japanese medical students commonly described the context and issues of healthcare in Japan and the future goals for physicians. In the move of the relevant background, it was notable that six out of eight personal statements showed personality. Although a range of moves was covered when writing about the reasons for applying, only two students described their understanding of programmes and institutional attributes. In the move of conclusion, they focused more on writing their goals of future success and contribution to the course. Furthermore, no applicant expressed self-promotion and praise for academics, programmes, and institutions. Conclusion: The findings of this study can provide a springboard for the development of support for Japanese students’ academic writing in English in medical education across cultures.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.