title: I came, I saw, I reflected: a qualitative study into learning outcomes of international electives for Japanese and British medical students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although medical students have increasingly more opportunities to participate in international electives, their experiences are usually unstructured and the literature referring to their learning outcomes, educational environment, and assessment is scanty. This study was undertaken to clarify qualitatively what students learn from their international electives.
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out semi-structured individual interviews with 15 Japanese students studying clinical medicine in British medical schools and six British students studying in Japanese medical schools. The thematic synthesis method was used in analysing the transcribed data and triangulation by multiple researchers was used to achieve higher reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main learning outcomes identified were skills in history taking and physical examination with clinical reasoning and in management of diseases rarely seen in the students' own countries; awareness of clinical ethics and merits and demerits of different systems of healthcare and medical education; sensitivity to issues in doctor-patient relationships and work ethics; enhancement of cultural competence; and personal development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most learning outcomes of international electives are culture- or system-dependent. Students achieved outcomes related closely to medical professionalism, mainly through reflection. International electives may give students opportunities to learn both professionalism and cultural competence.
authors.affiliation: International Research Center for Medical Education, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. hiroshi-nishigori@umin.net
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishigori
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Plint
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: Nobutaro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ban
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007564:Japan; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000208:ethnology