Insights into Delivering Cross-Cultural Medical Education in the UK and Malaysia

Clare Guilding; Paul Khoo Li Zhi; Sailesh Mohana Krishnan; Paul Stephen Hubbard; Kenneth Scott McKeegan

doi:10.1007/s40670-021-01382-z

Insights into Delivering Cross-Cultural Medical Education in the UK and Malaysia

Med Sci Educ. 2021 Sep 16;31(6):2177-2188. doi: 10.1007/s40670-021-01382-z. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Clare Guilding¹, Paul Khoo Li Zhi², Sailesh Mohana Krishnan², Paul Stephen Hubbard^{1

3}, Kenneth Scott McKeegan¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Medical Education, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH UK.
² University Hospital of North Durham, County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, Durham, UK.
³ Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, Gelang Patah, Johor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Newcastle University UK operates an international campus, NUMed, in Malaysia. NUMed delivers the same medical degree programme as in the UK, within a different cultural context. In this paper, medical education faculty and NUMed graduates with experience working in both the UK and Malaysia provide insights into cross-cultural diversity in approaches to learning. Observations from small and large group teaching and approaches to assessment are discussed in relation to students' cultural backgrounds including previous learning experiences and English language abilities. We provide practice points for educators preparing a diverse range of students to work in global healthcare settings.

Keywords: Clinical pharmacology; Cross-cultural; Internationalisation; Interprofessional education; Malaysia; Medical education; UK.