Points of Intersection: Facilitating Cultural Awareness of Self and Others in a Veterinary Medicine Communication Course    

Chris'na  Clarkson1;    Mary  Katherine  O’Brien2  and  Thorunn  Bjarnado<r3  1Veterinary  &  Biomedical  Sciences;  2Global  Programs  &  Strategy  Alliance    and  3Interna'onal  Student  &  Scholar  Services  

     Culture may be a situational factor that influences a veterinarian’s professional effectiveness.

Cultural  Competence  

International student interviews: awareness of ‘other’ Countries of origin: Ghana,  Brazil,  Eritrea,  Nepal,  Egypt,  Columbia,  Spain,  Argen;na  and  China   Examples of insight from interview: -  Ca=le  play  a  different  role  than  here;  religious  sacrifice,  working  animals,  as  a  dowry,  sta;s  symbol  (the  more  you  have  the  wealthier  you  are).  (Ghana)  

-  Some  wealthy  families  (in  Eritrea)  do  keep  animals  as  pets,  but  the  majority  of  people  do  not.  …  for  holidays,  families  oKen  slaughter  their  own  animals  by  sliLng  their  throats.  

-  80%  of  Nepal  is  Hindu  so  they  don’t  eat  any  beef  or  slaughter  their  cows.  They  have  a  conserva;on  center  that  uses  the  old  cows  that  die  and  feed  them  to  an  endangered  vulture  species.  Nepalese  do  milk  the  cows  and  use  oxen  for  labor.    

-  Some  (veterinarians  in  Egypt)  care  for  falcons  for  trained  hunters;  people  may  pay  over  $70,000  for  their  care.  This  is  a  popular  sport  in  Egypt  for  people  that  have  more  money.    

 -  What  did  we  take  out  of  this?  In  a  nut  shell:  we  took  more  out  of  this  than  we  thought  we  would.  We  thought  it  would  feel  awkward  and  unnatural  but  instead  it  was  a  

very  honest  and  easy  conversa;on….We  are  s;ll  discussing  the  differences  between  educa;on  in  China  vs.  educa;on  in  America.  It’s  so  interes;ng!  Chinese  students  seem  to  be  a  lot  more  studious  than  we  are.  

 

Journaling: awareness of ‘self’ and ‘other’ “  I  become  much  more  aware  of  the  individuality  each  person  has.    I  never  really  took  the  ;me  to  think  about  the  values  or  cultural  quali;es  my  own  family  has.    I  suppose  I  took  them  for  granted  and  never  took   the   ;me   to   appreciate   or   iden;fy   them….   This   ac;vity   allowed   me   to   learn   things   about   my  classmates   I   never  would   have   known.     Things   like   family   cultures   are   not   always   easily   apparent   in  general  interac;ons  but  I  think  they  are  important  and  provide  an  opportunity  to  learn  and  experience  life  from  other  perspec;ves.    My  own  culture  will  of  course  have  an  impact  on  how  I  will   interact  with  clients,  but  it  is  important  to  recognize  that  each  person  has  their  own  unique  culture.    I  think  culture  will  have  varying  impacts  on  interac;ons  depending  on  the  situa;on.    But  no  ma=er  what,  I  think  our  culture  impacts   the  way  we  view   the  world  and   it’s   important   to   remember   that  each  person   sees   through  a  different  lens”  

Graduates  (of  veterinary  medicine)  interact  with  other  students  and  increasingly  with  clients  whose  aLtudes,  beliefs,  values  and  behaviors  differ  from  their  own.  An  understanding  and  respect  for  these  differences  has  an  impact  on  client  communica;on  and  health  care  outcomes…  Language  and  sociocultural  differences  have  the  poten;al  to  affect  communica;on  and  the  ability  to  build  rapport,  trust,  and  confidence   in  the  veterinarian-­‐client  rela;onship….  Mills  et.  al.  2001      

References:  BenneL,  J.M.  (2009).  Cul'va'ng  intercultural  competence:  a  process  perspec've.  In  DK  Deardorff  (Ed.)  The  Sage  Handbook  of  Intercultural  Competence  (pp.  121-­‐140).  Thousand  Oaks,  California:  Sage  Publica'ons,  Inc.    Mills,  J.N.,  Volet  S.,  &  Fozdar  F.  (2011).  Cultural  awareness  in  veterinary  prac'ce:  student  percep'ons.  Journal  of  Veterinary  Medical  Educa;on,  38(3),  288-­‐297.  .    

Course objectives (In  red  are  the  objec/ves  met  through  interna/onal  component.)  

-  Review  and  reaffirm  your  current  communica2on  skill  set.  -  Gain  awareness  of  differences  in  communica2on  styles.  -  Iden2fy   specific   communica2on   challenges   when   dealing  

with   various   special   popula2ons   (e.g.,   children,   elderly   pet  owners   and   culturally   diverse   individuals),   then   apply   your  communica2on   skills   to   real-­‐life   encounters   with   these  popula2ons.  

-  Gain   prac2ce   in   interviewing   a   client   and   performing   a  physical  exam.  

-  Gain   insight   from   interviewing   individuals   of   varied   cultural  backgrounds.  

-  Build   communica2on   proficiency   and   confidence   through  simulated   clinical   encounters,   video   analysis   and   skill   self-­‐assessment.    

-  Gain  experience  and  skill  with  peer  assessment  and  feedback.      

Communication styles “I am from…” activity Interviews (international students)

Journaling Surveys

Course Information Applied  Communica'on  (CVM  6013;  Professional  Development):  a  course  offered  to  2nd  year  veterinary  students  (4  year  program).  Following  an  earlier  course  in  basic  communica'on  this  course  now  allows  the  students  opportuni'es  to  prac'ce  communica'on.  

Coordinator:  Chris'na  Clarkson,  DVM,  PhD    (ITL  Cohort,  June  2012;  ITL  Fellowship  2013-­‐14)      

Strongly  agree

Somew

hat  a

gree

Somew

hat  

disagree

Strongly  disagree

* I  make  very  few  assump'ons  about  others. o o o o

* Veterinarians  need  to  be  aware  of  the  different  cultures  that  exist  within  their  prac'ce. o o o o

* Immigrants  should  assimilate  themselves  into  the  culture  of  their  new  country. o o o o

** Different  cultures  can  be  successfully  blended. o o o o

** Minority  members  of  a  popula'on  should  conform  to  the  customs  and  values  of  the  majority. o o o o

*        Pre-­‐  and  Mid-­‐  course  survey  ques'ons;  **    Mid-­‐course  (only)  survey  ques'ons    

Results -  Students   gained   a   deeper   insight   of   their   classmate’s   cultural   perspec've  

afer  the  “I  am  from…”  ac'vity.  (small  group  and  individual  reflec'ons)    -  Students   increased   in   their   agreement   with   the   following   statement:  

Veterinarians  need   to  be  aware  of  different   cultures   that  exist  within   their  prac'ce  (survey  data)  

-  Students   gained   culture   specific   informa'on/insight   related   to   veterinary  medicine,  animal  care…(interviews  with  interna'onals)  

-  Students   were   able   to   envision   situa'ons   where   culture  may   impact   their  future  role  as  a  veterinarian.  (individual  reflec'ons)  

Discussion Striving  for  cultural  competence  is  a  lifelong  journey.  One  of  the  goals  of  this  course  was  to  provide  students  with   opportuni'es   to   establish/build   on   their   awareness   of   “self”   and   “other”   so   that   they   may   strive   for  effec've  communica'on  in  all  situa'ons  including  encounters  with  diverse  popula'ons  of  clients.  Through  their  journaling   it  became  obvious  that  the  students  didn’t  take  the  'me  to  consider  culture  (their  own  or  others)  un'l   they   were   ‘made’   to   reflect   on   their   experiences   related   to   the   various   ac'vi'es   –   highligh'ng   the  significance  that  reflec've  journaling  has  on  the  development  of  understanding  “others”  and  “self”.  

Situational Factors: 100  students;  predominantly  white,  middle-­‐class;  blended  format  of  lecture,  group  work,  and  experiences  (in  and  out  of  class);  cultural/interna2onal  emphasis  added  through  ac2vi2es.        

Goal:    Cultural    Awareness  

Learning    Ac'vi'es  

Assessments  

Surveys (examples  of  survey  ques'ons  related  to  culture)