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Reflective practice and social responsibility in family medicine: Effect of performing an international rotation in a developing country.

OBJECTIVE
To explore the perceived effect of an elective international health rotation on family medicine resident learning.


DESIGN
Qualitative, collaborative study based on semistructured interviews.


SETTING
Quebec.


PARTICIPANTS
A sample of 12 family medicine residents and 9 rotation supervisors (N = 21).


METHODS
Semistructured interviews of residents and rotation supervisors.


MAIN FINDINGS
Residents and supervisors alike reported that their technical skills and relationship skills had benefited. All increased their knowledge of tropical pathologies and learned to expand their clinical examinations. They benefited from having very rich interactions in other care settings, working with vulnerable populations. The rotations had their greatest effect on relationship skills (communication, empathy, etc) and the ability to work with vulnerable patients. All of the participants were exposed to local therapies and local interpretations of disease symptoms and pathogenesis.


CONCLUSION
The findings of this study will have a considerable effect on pedagogy. The residents' experiences of their international health rotations and what they learned in terms of medical skills and pedagogic approaches in working with patients are described. Using a collaborative approach with the rotation supervisors, the data were triangulated and the benefits of an international rotation on academic training were more accurately defined. The findings can now be used to enrich academic programs in social and preventive medicine and more adequately prepare future family physicians for work in various social and cultural settings.