Title |
Cultural diversity teaching and issues of uncertainty: the findings of a qualitative study
|
---|---|
Published in |
BMC Medical Education, April 2007
|
DOI | 10.1186/1472-6920-7-8 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Nisha Dogra, James Giordano, Nicholas France |
Abstract |
There is considerable ambiguity in the subjective dimensions that comprise much of the relational dynamic of the clinical encounter. Comfort with this ambiguity, and recognition of the potential uncertainty of particular domains of medicine (e.g.--cultural factors of illness expression, value bias in diagnoses, etc) is an important facet of medical education. This paper begins by defining ambiguity and uncertainty as relevant to clinical practice. Studies have shown differing patterns of students' tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty that appear to reflect extant attitudinal predispositions toward technology, objectivity, culture, value- and theory-ladeness, and the need for self-examination. This paper reports on those findings specifically related to the theme of uncertainty as relevant to teaching about cultural diversity. Its focus is to identify how and where the theme of certainty arose in the teaching and learning of cultural diversity, what were the attitudes toward this theme and topic, and how these attitudes and responses reflect and inform this area of medical pedagogy. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 2 | 2% |
Malaysia | 1 | <1% |
Pakistan | 1 | <1% |
Singapore | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 115 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 14 | 12% |
Student > Master | 14 | 12% |
Student > Bachelor | 12 | 10% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 11 | 9% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 10 | 8% |
Other | 32 | 27% |
Unknown | 27 | 23% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 39 | 33% |
Social Sciences | 16 | 13% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 7 | 6% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 7 | 6% |
Psychology | 4 | 3% |
Other | 17 | 14% |
Unknown | 30 | 25% |