Perceptions of intercultural competence and institutional intercultural inclusiveness among first year medical students: a 4-year study

Bunmi S Malau-Aduli,Mary D Adu,Simone Ross

doi:10.1186/s12909-019-1780-y

Abstract

BackgroundThis study sought to examine the awareness/perception of intercultural competence and institutional intercultural inclusiveness among first year students at an Australian medical school over four consecutive years (2014–2017); to identify existing gaps in the curriculum and proffer recommendations.MethodsThe study employed an adapted 20-item questionnaire for data collection. The reliability and interrelations of the survey items were examined. Descriptive statistics was used to examine students’ perceptions, while Mann-U Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess items scores in relation to participant characteristics.ResultsOver the 4 years of study, there were 520 respondents with between 53 to 69% response rates per year. Cronbach’s alpha for the instrument was 0.88 and factor analysis showed all items loading strongly on two components. Participants’ mean score on self-reported intercultural competence levels ranged from 3.8–4.6 out of 5; indicating relatively high awareness, valuing and understanding of cultural differences among this group of students. However, their mean scores (3.4–4.2) for institutional intercultural inclusiveness were slightly lower.ConclusionThe instrument used in this study is effective in assessing level of intercultural competence among medical students. However, the results highlight the need for increased institutional support and professional development for faculty members to foster institutional intercultural inclusiveness.

Highlights

This study sought to examine the awareness/perception of intercultural competence and institutional intercultural inclusiveness among first year students at an Australian medical school over four consecutive years (2014–2017); to identify existing gaps in the curriculum and proffer recommendations
The Australian Medical Council (AMC) emphasises the responsibility of medical schools to ensure that intercultural competence underpins the training and professional development of their trainees [5]
Our study examined first year medical students’ awareness of their own intercultural competence levels and their perceptions of intercultural inclusiveness within our institution, using a self-reported survey tool

Summary

Introduction

This study sought to examine the awareness/perception of intercultural competence and institutional intercultural inclusiveness among first year students at an Australian medical school over four consecutive years (2014–2017); to identify existing gaps in the curriculum and proffer recommendations. Intercultural competence has become essential in all occupations and cultural settings [2]. Byram (1997, p34) defined intercultural competence as “Knowledge of others; knowledge of self; skills to interpret and relate; skills to discover and/or to interact; valuing others’ values, beliefs, and behaviors; and relativizing one’s self” [3]. The Australian Medical Council (AMC) emphasises the responsibility of medical schools to ensure that intercultural competence underpins the training and professional development of their trainees [5]. Medical educators and accreditation bodies recognise intercultural competence as critical to the professional development of medical students [6]. Intercultural competence refers to a set of congruent behaviour, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency or health service, or among professionals, which enables the organisation or the professionals to

Results

Discussion

Conclusion