Transplanting education: a case study of the production of 'American-style' doctors in a non-American setting

This thesis examines the transfer of an American pedagogical model to the Arabian Gulf against the wider context of the globalisation of higher education. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is used as a case study to examine how American medical knowledge and professional practice are transmitted to and assimilated by an Arabic social setting. It considers the workings of what is presumed to be a universal pedagogical model by examining how the degree is culturally translated and localised in Qatar. It addresses the question of whether or not the Cornell degree of “Doctor of Medicine” is simply an American product transplanted to the Middle East, or rather a malleable artefact: sought out, manipulated and shaped by the Qataris for their own ends. Medical education necessitates a highly challenging process of acculturation that is amplified for Arabic-educated students who enter the American medical curriculum without many of the values derived from a Western educational system. In addition to language, students from Arabic-medium schools cite dress, familial, cultural and ethical dissonance as issues that had to be negotiated while undertaking the degree. Students enrolled at the American-style medical college currently divide their clinical training between the Gulf and America. The structure of the imported curriculum and biomedical practices generated in the metropole demand that students become bilingually competent in both Arab and American health care systems. The “American way” of doing things, however, does not always translate or conform to cultural mores and standard practice within the Gulf setting. This thesis follows Arab students as they move between the coeducational American academic setting and local health care facilities, examining the ways that the physicians-in-training contextualise, appropriate and reconstruct the medical degree according to their own cultural referential framework. The thesis introduces the language of “transplantation” as a heuristic tool through which the globalisation of higher education might be explored conceptually. It is an ethnography of an emergent educational transplant propagated in a globalised era, which explores novel modes of knowledge transfer, institutional and social arrangements across local and transnational boundaries, changing subjectivities and the generation of new life forms. In a setting in the Islamic world, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar provides a strategic site for observing the dynamics of a nation and its people grappling with modernity. Through its production of Americanstyle doctors in a non-American setting, Cornell’s transnational medical school serves as a niche through which to explore the tensions that arise in global models of tertiary education

Education, marriage, and professionalization: the modern Qatari woman's dilemma

"We offer observations about the obstacles to promoting a gender-inclusive labor force based on two sets of data on female Qatari students and professionals. Data set 1 is the result of a project pertaining to the disparity between education and employment among Qatari women. We surveyed 274 young women between the ages of 17 and 25 with the aim of understanding some of the reasons why Qatari women were not entering the workforce. Data set 2 derives from 350 focus groups and interviews with female students to assess the effect their tertiary education had on their marriageability. While education has delayed the age of marriage when this generation of women is compared with that of their mothers and grandmothers, the social expectations of becoming a wife and ensuing motherhood mean that marriage can restrict a woman's working outside the home." (author's abstract)"Anhand zweier Datensätze von Interviews, die mit katarischen Studentinnen und Professorinnen durchgeführt wurden, werden die Hindernisse auf dem Weg hin zu einer geschlechterinklusiven Erwerbsbeteiligung untersucht. Der erste Datensatz ist das Ergebnis eines Projekts, das die Disparitäten zwischen Bildungsabschluss und Erwerbsbeteiligung unter katarischen Frauen untersucht. 274 junge Frauen im Alter von 17 bis 25 Jahren wurden mit dem Ziel befragt, einige der Gründe nachzuzeichnen, warum katarische Frauen nicht ins Berufsleben treten. Der zweite Datensatz bündelt die Ergebnisse von 350 Fokusgruppendiskussionen und Interviews mit Studentinnen. Hier wurde die Auswirkung von deren höherer Bildung auf deren Heiratsfähigkeit untersucht. Ihre Bildung hat - im Vergleich zu den Generationen ihrer Mütter und Großmütter - zu einer Erhöhung des Heiratsalters geführt, aber die sozialen Erwartungen an Frauen, die Rolle der Ehefrau und Mutter zu erfüllen, führen weiterhin dazu, dass eine Heirat die Arbeit einer Frau außerhalb des Hauses einschränken kann." (Autorenreferat

Stolen Wages in the Nation's Capital: Fixing DC's Broken Wage Theft Claims Process

Today in the District of Columbia ("the District" or "DC"), low wage workers are being shortchanged. Policies currently in place make it very difficult, to nearly impossible, for victims of wage theft to hold employers accountable for failing to pay wages owed. The Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014, co-introduced on February 4, 2014 by Councilmembers Vincent Orange, Jim Graham, and Mary Cheh, would provide needed accountability and stronger protections to ensure that those working an honest day receive honest pay for their labor. This document provides an introduction to the current barriers affecting workers in the District, and presents an overview of the ways in which the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014 would ameliorate these problems; thereby making the District a better place for workers and responsible businesses

Best Practices for Encouraging Instructor/Student Communication and Partnerships in Online Learning

When students and instructors communicate well, students’ GPAs, GRE scores, educational engagement, personal development, and satisfaction with their learning experience all improve. Similarly, when instructors are transparent in their course decisions and involve students as partners in their education, student retention, academic sense of belonging, student-instructor interactions, and networking opportunities all improve. However, face-to-face techniques for student/instructor communication, like informal before-class conversations or in-class question-and-answer sessions about assignments, can be challenging to implement in an online environment. The purpose of this piece is to discuss evidence-based strategies for improving transparency and communication in an online learning environment

Construct validity of an instrument for assessment of reflective writing-based portfolios of medical students

Purpose: Assessment of reflective writing for medical students is challenging, and there is lack of an available instrument with good psychometric properties. The authors developed a new instrument for assessment of reflective writing-based portfolios and examined the construct validity of this instrument. Methods: After an extensive literature review and pilot testing of the instrument, two raters assessed the reflective writing-based portfolios from years 2 and 3 medical students (n=135) on three occasions. The instrument consists of three criteria: organization, description of an experience and reflection on the experience. We calculated the reliability of scores using generalizability theory with a fully crossed design and two facets (raters and occasions). In addition, we measured criterion validity by testing correlations with students’ scores using other assessment methods. Results: The dependability (Φ) coefficient of the portfolio scores was 0.75 using two raters on three occasions. Students’ portfolio scores represented 46.6% of the total variance across all score comparisons. The variance due to occasions was negligible, while the student– occasion interaction was small. The variance due to student–rater interaction represented 17.7%, and the remaining 27.7% of the variance was due to unexplained sources of error. The decision (D) study suggested that an acceptable dependability (Φ = 0.70 and 0.72) can be achieved by using two raters for one and two occasions, respectively. Finally, we found moderate to large effect-size correlations between students’ scores in reflective writing-based portfolios and communication skills (r = 0.47) and PBL tutorials (r = 0.50). Conclusion: We demonstrated the presence of different sources of evidence that support construct validity of the study instrument. Further studies are warranted before utilizing this instrument for summative assessment of students’ reflective writing-based portfolios in other medical schools

Does the Animal Fun program improve motor performance in children aged 4–6 years?

The Animal Fun program was designed to enhance the motor ability of young children by imitating the movements of animals in a fun, inclusive setting. The efficacy of this program was investigated through a randomized controlled trial using a multivariate nested cohort design. Pre-intervention scores were recorded for 511 children aged 4.83 years to 6.17 years (M =5.42 years, SD = 3.58 months). Six control and six intervention schools were compared 6 months later following the intervention, and then again at 18 months after the initial testing when the children were in their first school year. Changes in motor performance were examined using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency short form. Data were analyzed using multi-level-mixed effects linear regression. A significant Condition Time interaction was found, F(2,1219) = 3.35, p = .035, demonstrating that only the intervention group showed an improvement in motor ability. A significant Sex Time interaction was also found, (2,1219) = 3.84, p = .022, with boys improving over time, but not girls. These findings have important implications for the efficacy of early intervention of motor skills and understanding the differences in motor performance between boys and girls

Islam and Mental Disorders of the Older Adults: Religious Text, Belief System and Caregiving Practices.

This paper illustrates the impact of Islamic religious texts on dementia care in the Middle East. It examines how old age and older adults mental disorders are framed in the Quran and Hadith, and how these texts are transformed to belief ideologies and caregiving practices. The study uses a qualitative research methods, which include a review of all Islamic holy texts that address mental and cognitive changes associated with ageing, along with interviews with eight Sharia scholars and 37-Arab-Muslim families living in Qatar. Islamic texts command compassion and honouring of elderly parents and give care instructions. These texts are transformed into social practices and used as diagnostic and treatment tools.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library. This article is based on a study funded by Ehsan-Centre for Empowerment and Elderly Care in Qatar (Grant reference: QUEX-CAS-EHSAN-17/18)

Exploring QU Health Students' Experiences of Burnout, Anxiety, and Empathy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Method Study

Background Students' mental health is a growing concern. COVID-19 pandemic resulted in academic and non-academic challenges which caused students' burnout, anxiety, and reduced empathy. Objectives The study objectives were to assess burnout amongst QU Health students, determine the relationship between burnout and anxiety, and burnout and empathy, and to determine the students coping strategies. Methods A convergent mixed-methods design was used: (1) a cross-sectional survey using validated instruments. Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Students Survey (MBI-GS(S)) to measure burnout, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) to measure anxiety, and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to measure empathy; (2) focus groups to get a deeper insight of the students' experiences and coping strategies. Descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses were used for the survey while the focus groups were analysed using deductive thematic analysis following the coping reserve model. Results 21.45% of students responded to the survey. Burnout was reported according to the subscales. MBI-Exhaustion (MBI-EX) subscale (mean= 4.07, SD= 1.56), MBI-Cynicism (MBI-CY) subscale (mean= 2.63, SD= 1.53), and MBI-Professional Efficacy (MBI-PE) subscale (mean= 3.97, SD= 1.22). MBI-EX and MBI-CY were associated with GAD-7 scores. MBI-EX and MBI-CY were associated with IRI-Empathic Concern (IRI-EC) and IRI-Personal Distress (IRI-PD) while MBI-PE was associated with IRI-Perspective Talking (IRI-PT) and IRI-EC. The students used many coping strategies to build resilience. Conclusion QU Health students experienced burnout during the spring 2020 semester. Many burnout causes and coping strategies were identified. It is suggested for QU to start mentorship programs and mental health initiatives to promote students' resilience

A program evaluation reporting student perceptions of early clinical exposure to primary care at a new medical college in Qatar

Background: Though common practice in Europe, few studies have described the efficacy of early clinical exposure (ECE) in the Middle East. The barriers to clinical learning experienced by these novice medical students have not been reported. This evaluation reports on introducing ECE in primary care, supported by Experiential Review (ER) debriefing sessions. The evaluation explores students' experiences of their acquisition of clinical and non-technical skills, sociocultural issues commonly encountered but underreported and barriers to clinical learning experienced. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of three student cohorts in 2017-19: All second and third-year students at the new College of Medicine were invited to participate. The primary outcome was students' perceptions of the aims of the Primary Health Centre Placement (PHCP) programme and how it facilitated learning. Secondary outcome measures were students' perceptions of their learning in ER sessions and perceived barriers to learning during PHCPs. Student perceptions of the PHCPs were measured using a Likert scale-based questionnaire. Results: One hundred and fifty-one students participated: 107 in year 2 and 44 in year 3; 72.3% were female. Overall, most students (> 70%) strongly agreed or agreed with the purposes of the PCHPs. Most students (71%) strongly agreed or agreed that the PCHPs allowed them to learn about patient care; 58% to observe doctors as role models and 55% to discuss managing common clinical problems with family physicians. Most students (year 2 = 62.5% and year 3 = 67%) strongly agreed/agreed that they were now confident taking histories and examining patients. Student barriers to clinical learning included: Unclear learning outcomes (48.3%); faculty too busy to teach (41.7%); lacking understanding of clinical medicine (29.1%); shyness (26.5%); and finding talking to patients difficult and embarrassing (25.8%). Over 70% reported that ER enabled them to discuss ethical and professional issues. Conclusions: Overall, our Middle Eastern students regard ECE as beneficial to their clinical learning. PHCPs and ER sessions together provide useful educational experiences for novice learners. We recommend further exploration of the barriers to learning to explore whether these novice students' perceptions are manifesting underlying cultural sensitivities or acculturation to their new environment.Scopu

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy