Assessing intercultural sensitivity of third-year medical students at the George Washington University.

摘要

This study assessed and compared levels of intercultural sensitivity within medical education. Intercultural experiential learning brings learning and culture together and provides a venue for individuals to gain cultural sensitivity.;The research questions were the following: what are students' actual and perceived levels of intercultural sensitivity? Is there a correlation between students' participation in an' international experience and their developmental and perceived levels of intercultural sensitivity? Is there a correlation between demographic factors---such as ethnicity, gender, age, and previous experience living in another culture---and students' actual and perceived levels of intercultural sensitivity? How do students perceive the role of the international experience on the development of their intercultural sensitivity?;This study was a mixed method that corresponded to the sequential dominant-less dominant design; the paradigm that guided the study is mainly positivistic and focused on the quantitative method that took place before the qualitative method. The target population was third-year medical students at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. One hundred sixty-seven students received the two-part Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI): part one was a 50-item self-assessment measuring the stages of intercultural sensitivity; part two consisted of 10 demographic questions. Data were collected on 141 individuals; the overall response rate was 84%. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were conducted with 6 students.;The IDI results were summarized using SPSS to apply F-tests (ANOVA and ANCOVA), and correlations analyses. The interviews were analyzed using coding and emerging themes techniques per Miles & Huberman (1994).;The analyses found no significant differences in developmental and perceived levels of intercultural sensitivity among participants with international experience and those without it; ethnicity/racial background, age, and previous experience living abroad showed no correlations with levels of intercultural sensitivity; however, there was statistical significance in gender, where females scored higher on the developmental level than males.;A summary of the interviews shows that participants agreed that active participation during the international experience, experience through reflection and dialogue, basic knowledge of the host country language, open mindedness, and awareness of the medical profession socializing process are important ingredients in effective intercultural experience.