Medical education in a foreign language and history-taking in the native language in Lebanon - a nationwide survey.

Vanda Abi Raad,Sola Aoun Bahous,Nadia Asmar,Kareem Raad,Mouin Jammal,Serge Korjian,Yazan Daaboul

doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0826-7

Abstract

BackgroundWith the adoption of the English language in medical education, a gap in clinical communication may develop in countries where the native language is different from the language of medical education. This study investigates the association between medical education in a foreign language and students’ confidence in their history-taking skills in their native language.MethodsThis cross-sectional study consisted of a 17-question survey among medical students in clinical clerkships of Lebanese medical schools. The relationship between the language of medical education and confidence in conducting a medical history in Arabic (the native language) was evaluated (n = 457).ResultsThe majority (88.5%) of students whose native language was Arabic were confident they could conduct a medical history in Arabic. Among participants enrolled in the first clinical year, high confidence in Arabic history-taking was independently associated with Arabic being the native language and with conducting medical history in Arabic either in the pre-clinical years or during extracurricular activities. Among students in their second clinical year, however, these factors were not associated with confidence levels.ConclusionsDespite having their medical education in a foreign language, the majority of students in Lebanese medical schools are confident in conducting a medical history in their native language.

Highlights

With the adoption of the English language in medical education, a gap in clinical communication may develop in countries where the native language is different from the language of medical education
All participants had their medical education in a foreign language, 88.5% of participants whose native language was Arabic were either extremely or moderately confident that they could conduct a medical history in Arabic during their clinical years
The clinical year did not significantly modulate the effect of Arabic being the native language on Arabic history-taking confidence levels, the results from Table 3 suggest that as medical students transition from their first clinical year to their second clinical year, the impact of external factors becomes less relevant in predicting confidence in history-taking skills in their native language

Summary

Introduction

With the adoption of the English language in medical education, a gap in clinical communication may develop in countries where the native language is different from the language of medical education. Out of the seven registered medical schools in the country, four use English as their language of medical instruction, while the remaining use French; two languages that are not primary speaking languages in the country. The official and most widely spoken language in Lebanon is Arabic, and the majority of patients in academic and community healthcare centers speak it. Lebanon is unique in having a high proportion of bilingual and trilingual medical students [12].

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Discussion

Conclusion