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Background: Pen-pal clubs (PPC) are used worldwide for students to learn about different cultures and other skillsets without the need for travel. Many medical students are interested in global health opportunities abroad but costs, scheduling, and other barriers allow few to participate in such experiences. It is important that medical students have nuanced global medical perspectives and can contribute to the global medical community. Objective: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that an international medical student PPC improves medical students' perspectives of cultural competency and global health engagement. Methods: In 2021, a novel medical student PPC was established that began between an American and Japanese medical school. Following a shareholders meeting, it was decided that the number of medical schools involved globally be expanded through previous institutional affiliations and online presences. In total, the club connected 50 American medical students and 52 medical students from 17 high- and middle-income countries. The primary form of communication was online; pen-pals were encouraged to communicate monthly using provided topics, although frequency and way of communication was their discretion. In February 2022, American PPC members were emailed a qualitative survey to assess the PPC's impact. Results: The survey was completed by 42% of American PPC members, 95% of which were 22-26 years. Participants were preclinical medical students, 60% whom were female and the majority either white (47%) or Asian (43%). Overall, the PPC positively influenced American medical students' perception of global medicine, medical education, and their cultural competency after joining the PPC compared to prior (P = 0.004). Conclusion: PPCs encourage medical students to think from a global perspective and foster open-mindedness within varying social and cultural contexts. Having a global communication platform for students during medical school education may be an additional way to train aspiring global leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Educators require focused training to foster the development of intercultural competence in nurses. Training programs for educators need to be based on a comprehensive profile with a focus on intercultural learning. This study aims to define and validate a profile of the Intercultural Nursing Educator (INE). Method: The Delphi method was used with an iterative, multi-stage process to transform opinions into group consensus. A total of 46 European, African, and American experts from the nursing and intercultural field participated. Inclusion criteria required English at a level of B2, expertise in the field of intercultural competence, experience in teaching intercultural competence in the nursing context, and publications focused on intercultural topics. Results: The INE profile was developed and all 126 competencies were validated. Discussion and conclusion: The profile is freely available on the project website and provides the basis for curricula, training programs and assessment of the required competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]