Abstract

Cultural barriers to the spread of clinical skills teaching methods

Author(s): Toshio Sato, Debra Patten, John McLachlan

The transferability of clinical skills teaching methods from one culture to another are explored through a case study comparing anatomy teaching methods in Japan and the UK, since attitudes to the body are critical to clinical skills teaching, and anatomy is the most direct method of experiencing the body encountered in medical school prior to patient contact.

Current admission practices, the structure of medical school curricula and the demographic make up of medical students in each country are explored. Teaching methods are compared between each country. Cultural attitudes to death, nakedness and innovation are then contrasted.

It is concluded that, while attitudes to death between the two cultures differ significantly in philosophical principle, the practical differences are slighter. However, attitudes to nakedness and the living body are significantly different, and are likely to act as a deterrent to introduction of extensive use of methods such as peer physical examination in Japan. Attitudes to change and innovation may also differ significantly between the two cultures, suggesting that it is not sufficient to analyse merely the merits of proposed changes, but also the cultural field into which they will be introduced.