Research in Education, Faculty of Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
LEARN! Research Institute for Learning and Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Jan 5;21(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02423-8.
To be in alignment with the increasing diversity in the patient population, ethnic minorities should have appropriate representation in health care professions. Medical students from ethnic minorities therefore need to be successful in their medical studies. The current literature highlights that they underperform in comparison with the ethnic majority. The aim of the present study is to gain insight into what medical students from ethnic minorities experience during their education and what they need to become or stay motivated and to perform to their full potential.
Medical students from ethnic minorities from year 1 to 6, enrolled at Amsterdam UMC, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, the Netherlands, were invited via email to participate in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, using an interview guide, from August-October 2018. A constructivist paradigm was adopted.
Eighteen medical students from ethnic minorities (three from year 1, three from year 2, one from 3, four from year 4, two from year 5, and three from year 6) participated in this study. Students' negative experiences could be categorized as follows: (1) the effect of discrimination (2) lack of representation of ethnic minority role models, (3) lack of a sense of belonging, (4) lack of a medical network, (5) differences and difficulties in cultural communication and language, and (6) examiner bias in clinical assessments. Examples of support tips relating to these experiences are: increasing awareness about diversity and other religions, providing support groups, having visible ethnic minority role models, and facilitating support in networking.
Findings of this study suggest that medical students from ethnic minorities have negative experiences that influence their education. Supporting these students is essential for creating a good and safe educational and practical environment for ethnic minority students.
为了与患者群体的日益多样化保持一致，少数民族应该在医疗保健专业中得到适当的代表。因此，少数民族医学生需要在医学学习中取得成功。目前的文献强调，他们的表现不如多数族裔学生。本研究的目的是深入了解少数民族医学生在教育过程中所经历的事情，以及他们需要什么才能保持动力并充分发挥潜力。
阿姆斯特丹大学医学中心、自由大学医学院的 1 至 6 年级少数民族医学生通过电子邮件受邀参加这项研究。2018 年 8 月至 10 月，使用访谈指南进行了半结构化访谈。采用建构主义范式。
18 名少数民族医学生（1 年级 3 名，2 年级 3 名，3 年级 1 名，4 年级 4 名，5 年级 2 名，6 年级 3 名）参加了这项研究。学生的负面经历可以分为以下几类：（1）歧视的影响，（2）缺乏少数民族榜样，（3）归属感缺失，（4）缺乏医疗网络，（5）文化交流和语言方面的差异和困难，以及（6）临床评估中的考官偏见。与这些经历相关的支持提示示例包括：提高对多样性和其他宗教的认识，提供支持小组，有可见的少数民族榜样，以及促进网络支持。
本研究的结果表明，少数民族医学生有负面经历，这会影响他们的教育。支持这些学生对于为少数民族学生创造一个良好和安全的教育和实践环境至关重要。
