I came, I saw, I reflected: a qualitative study into learning outcomes of international electives for Japanese and British medical students.
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.
Nishigori
Hiroshi
H
International Research Center for Medical Education, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. hiroshi-nishigori@umin.net
Otani
Takashi
T
Plint
Simon
S
Uchino
Minako
M
Ban
Nobutaro
N
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