The Presence of a Culture Gap
In order to ensure a reduction in international ‘Grade A Candidate’ turnover rates, as well as driving clinically sustainable and quality care from this cohort, Trusts need to understand the presence of a culture gap. This is reiterated in a report written by The General Medical Council (GMC) which highlights that international doctors tend to struggle with “subtleties of language and dialect to misunderstandings of the nuances of non-verbal communication and social and behavioural norms” (GMC, 2014). These difficulties include communication issues when working with other healthcare professionals as well as the handling of different patient types such as angry patients, those with emotional issues and challenging relatives. According to Wright (2016), IELTS does not prepare international doctors for the latter.
Thus, how can Trusts bridge this culture gap and turn their international Grade A candidate into a Grade A* candidate before they transition to a new healthcare system?
CPD Accredited Course
At Remedium, we take pride in the care and transition of doctors to the UK. Therefore, as a result of the shortage of available professional cultural integration courses, we are delighted to announce our offering of a pioneering digital CPD accredited (16 credits) course. This is aimed at helping doctors settle into the NHS – and is known to reduce their induction period by two weeks. CPD is an intensive course, which covers eight different modules (Figure One) and is led by a qualified course trainer who has had twenty years of experience in working with healthcare professionals in the UK and France.
Figure One: Modules
Feedback is provided on an individual basis throughout the duration of the course on aspects such as language usage, colloquial expressions and delivery issues. The final assessment takes place in the form of a role play exercise via Zoom (Figure Two) which enables the doctors to put learned patient consultation skills into practice.
Figure Two: Role Play Assessment
According to Dr Elif Carpar, the course “puts a light on issues that are generally subtle, kept undercover and rarely talked out loud. Communication is the greatest struggle domain for me here. It is my second month in the UK as a specialty doctor, so this course has absolutely provided me the induction I didn’t receive in my hospital.”
CONTACT US OR REGISTER YOUR INTEREST FOR MORE DETAILS!
