Parents as Advocates for the Psychosocial Survival of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

Many young people with cancer have a parent or parents who care for them during their hospitalisation and treatment, and remain an important part of their lives after the ‘crisis’ has passed and young people have moved into survivorship. This qualitative study explored the impact of cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival during adolescence and young adulthood on the practice and experiences of parenting. We conducted focus groups with a total of 22 parents of young people diagnosed with various cancers between the ages of 11 and 19 years old. The results indicated that parents advocated for their offspring in different ways at different points of the cancer journey. Parents used their parental knowledge of their offspring to secure a medical diagnosis and treatment, developed medical knowledge to advocate for appropriate treatment within the medical system, and then used parental and medical knowledge to advocate for their offspring’s successful psychosocial survival. In this final point in the journey, parents entered social worlds from which they would normally be absent and some went to great lengths to ensure their offspring were not socially disadvantaged

International healthcare students in clinical learning environments

Abstract Internationalism is becoming an increasingly prominent phenomenon in healthcare education. Growing evidence suggests that cultural and linguistic differences influence international students’ learning experiences, particularly in clinical learning environments. We suggest that both students and their mentors should be provided with education in culture and communication to prepare them for professional partnerships in the clinical learning environment. Students also require a well-planned orientation and enough time to adapt to cultural and linguistic differences during their clinical placements. Creating a pedagogical atmosphere which is supportive of cultural differences can enhance students’ success in clinical learning. Fostering intercultural sensitivity towards international students enables reciprocal learning to take place between mentors, clinical facilitators and students. Internationalism offers great opportunities for students to receive a richer education and become better professionals. However, educating international students well requires both careful planning of clinical education within the healthcare curriculum and training of clinical mentors to supervise international students effectively