An Anthropological Approach to Teaching Health Sciences Students Cultural Competency in a Field School Program

Abstract

International immersion experiences do not, in themselves, provide students with the opportunity to develop cultural competence. However, using an anthropological lens to educate students allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences by removing their own cultural filters and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different. Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Global Health Institute believed that an embedded experience, in which students engaged with local communities, would encourage them to adopt this Cultural Competency 2.0 position. With this goal in mind, they started the Field School for the Study of Language, Culture, and Community Health in Ecuador in 2003 to teach cultural competency to medical, veterinary, pharmacy, and nursing students. The program was rooted in medical anthropology and embraced the One Health initiative, which is a collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to obtain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. In this article, the authors identify effective practices and challenges for using a biocultural approach to educating students. In a semester-long preparatory class, students study the Spanish language, region-specific topics, and community engagement principles. While in Ecuador for five weeks, students apply their knowledge during community visits that involve homestays and service learning projects, for which they partner with local communities to meet their health needs. This combination of language and anthropological course work and community-based service learning has led to positive outcomes for the local communities as well as professional development for students and faculty.

Evaluation of a Structured Predeparture Orientation at the David Geffen School of Medicine's Global Health Education Programs

“…Our findings about the positive impact of involvement of faculty and trainees are consistent with medical education literature, which emphasizes the importance of mentorship as an opportunity to model professionalism, humanism, and ethical and cultural humility. [15][16][17][18] Our program evaluation is strengthened by inclusion of a subgroup of students surveyed after their elective to determine whether the PDO adequately prepared them for their experiences. This survey confirmed the benefits of the PDO and showed that all students, regardless of prior global health experience, perceived these benefits.…”

The relevance and role of homestays in medical education: a scoping study

“…This set-up creates a reliable, efficient programme that is more likely to succeed over time. One of the studied health science programmes makes use of a third party person who is local to the community, which has shown to help build legitimacy and strong networks between the programme participants and host community [18]. This person can also help student integration into the community and can bridge cultural gaps to aid with immersion [19].…”

“…Homestays allowed these students the level of immersion that made it possible for them to more fully understand the complexities of lifestyle and disease and the challenges of global health [19]. A second study of health science field courses found that 91% of students who lived in homestays while serving the community report using cross-cultural skills in their health career while 63% use their language skills, which are both largely attributed to the immersive living experience [18]. Health science students also report that they believe an immersive experience should be a required part of their education, showing their support for these programmes [18].…”

“…A second study of health science field courses found that 91% of students who lived in homestays while serving the community report using cross-cultural skills in their health career while 63% use their language skills, which are both largely attributed to the immersive living experience [18]. Health science students also report that they believe an immersive experience should be a required part of their education, showing their support for these programmes [18]. One survey of health science students who had a global immersive experience has collected reports ten-years post-programme, and found that students strongly believe this experience ultimately effected their career decisions [24].…”

Targeted Community Outreach Raises Institutional Diversity Consciousness and Bridges Campus-Community Relations

“…1 Furthermore, involvement in the community fosters partnerships that result in sharing and maximizing resources and helps children develop healthy behaviors while promoting healthy families. These partnerships also directly benefit the medical schools; community involvement directly predicts the degree to which academic institutions engage community members in their studies 2 , something that most faculty agree enhances the relevance of their clinical research.…”