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"Doctor, teacher, translator:" International medical students' experiences of clinical teaching on an English language undergraduate medical course in China

Rashid, MA; Xu, L; Nicholson, J-G; Gill, D; (2020) "Doctor, teacher, translator:" International medical students' experiences of clinical teaching on an English language undergraduate medical course in China. Education for Health , 33 (1) pp. 20-23. 10.4103/efh.EfH_212_19. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: Like many Chinese universities, Ningbo University (NBU) has two undergraduate medical courses - one taught in Mandarin for domestic students, and one taught in English for international students. This study examines the experiences of medical students who recently completed the English language program that has a particular focus on clinical placements. / Methods: In-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 final year medical students at NBU in April 2019. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. / Results: All medical student participants were non native English speakers and had a limited grasp of Chinese. Their clinical teachers were all fluent in Chinese and had variable command of English. The large majority of patients in the teaching hospitals where placements took place spoke only in Chinese. Despite the obvious challenges arising from this, students still had predominantly positive experiences of clinical placements. Although students recognized that their clinical teachers' English proficiency was variable, they felt that other attributes, such as enthusiasm, interactivity, and a desire to teach were more important factors to their learning experiences. / Discussion: Despite challenging linguistic circumstances, non native English-speaking students were able to navigate the challenges of studying clinical medicine from teachers with limited English language skills and with patients who spoke virtually no English. Further studies should explore the perceptions of teachers of the program, and graduate outcomes when these students enter the workplace. Educators involved in supporting international medical students should note that non technical curricular areas such as professionalism may require greater attention where language barriers exist.

Type: Article
Title: "Doctor, teacher, translator:" International medical students' experiences of clinical teaching on an English language undergraduate medical course in China
Location: India
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.4103/efh.EfH_212_19
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/efh.EfH_212_19
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non‑commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
Keywords: Clinical placements, globalization, international students
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > UCL Medical School
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10109053
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