An analysis of blogs from medical students on "English Parallel" courses in Central and Eastern Europe.

During the last 20 years, there has been a significant growth in the training of overseas students especially within the European Union. Informal discussions with past and present students revealed a marked reluctance to take part in interviews about the nature of "English Parallel" courses. Alternative sources of information include blogs and commentaries written on the internet by present and former students at these schools. Such blogs are relatively limited in number and of variable length. They have been written for a variety of reasons and range in content from commentaries on training to wider discussion of life in Central and Eastern Europe. Six blogs were identified from an internet search, and a qualitative approach was adopted for the analysis of text content. Their experience is assessed, and potential approaches to greater integration of training across Europe are considered.