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Contexte : Les activités d’apprentissage par le service dans la communauté (ASC) sont intégrées au sein des facultés de médecine depuis plusieurs années. Toutefois, peu de données existent permettant de comprendre les retombées de ce type d’activités sur les personnes étudiantes et les milieux communautaires. Cette recherche visait à explorer les perceptions des retombées d’une activité de formation ASC offerte aux personnes étudiantes en médecine. Méthodes : Une étude qualitative descriptive interprétative a été menée. Elle incluait des entrevues semi-dirigées pré et post stage, menée auprès des personnes étudiantes ayant participé aux activités d’ASC (pré n=21, post n=7), de même que des groupes de discussion focalisée auprès d’intervenants ou responsables d’organismes communautaires (n=17). Résultats : Les expériences vécues au sein de milieux socioéconomiques et culturels pluriels ont contribué à améliorer la compréhension par les personnes étudiantes du concept de vulnérabilité sociale et du vécu des personnes vivant en contexte de vulnérabilité. L’ASC a également généré une meilleure perception de la compréhension de l’importance des organismes communautaires dans l’aide à ces personnes en situation de vulnérabilité. Conclusion : Dans le cadre de l’ASC, une meilleure compréhension des facteurs contribuant au développement de compétences touchant la pratique en contexte de vulnérabilité s’avère nécessaire pour permettre une expérience significative et souvent transformative chez les futurs médecins.

International and intercultural educational partnerships facilitate exporting a curriculum or course from a home university situated in a developed country (North) to a host university situated in a low-income country (South). Decolonization of health pedagogy principles were applied throughout a synchronous virtual cross-border intercultural course by videoconference (SVCIV) was carried out. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and to identify facilitators and barriers to conducting a SVCIV involving students in Quebec and in Haiti. Five Quebec students and five Haitian students, all volunteers, took part in a 3-weeks course using problem-based learning (PBL) methods. A thematic analysis of data drawn from a 120-minute recorded focus group discussion held one week after the SVCIV reveals the feasibility issues regarding implementing an international cross-cultural North-South educational collaborative project. In order to successfully replicate such a project, the criteria deemed important relate to: 1) the attributes of the students and teachers involved; 2) pedagogical preparation activities; and 3) the use of multiple communication strategies. In addition to the acquisition of course content not readily available in Haiti, the social interactions inherent in the PBL method supported the acquisition of competencies such as collaboration, communication, and change agent advocacy promoted by the Canadian association of occupational therapy and contribute greatly to strengthening the students’ professional identity.

The cultural challenge of educating Haitian rehabilitation professionals was identified by a Canadian francophone university which collaborated in the implementation and organization of international internships. Ethical cross-border internationalization should ensure reciprocity for partners. With this as a central value and in a context of pedagogical resource scarcity in Haiti, an intercultural educational partnership involved Haitian and Canadian university students situated in their respective countries in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) course. Teachers and students applied principles of decolonization of health pedagogy principles were applied by teacher and students throughout this cross-border virtual synchronous PBL course. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and to identify facilitators and obstacles to conducting a cross-border virtual synchronous PBL course and its perceived benefits in the development of professional competencies. Five Canadian students and five Haitian students, all volunteers, took part in a 3-week cross-border virtual synchronous PBL course. Deductive qualitative content analysis of the transcripts from a 120-minute focus group discussion held one week after the course and a logbook kept during the project was conducted. The criteria deemed important to successfully replicate this project relate to: 1) The attributes of the students and teachers involved; 2) pedagogical preparation activities; and 3) the use of multiple communication strategies and connectivity plans. In addition to the acquisition of course content not readily available in Haiti, the student interactions inherent in the PBL method supported the acquisition of competencies such as collaboration, communication, and change agent advocacy promoted by the Canadian association of occupational therapy which contribute greatly to strengthening the students' professional identity.

Background: Globalization results in a rapidly diversifying population, increased inequities, and more complex health problems affecting populations. This forces medical schools to integrate global health (GH) into the training of health-care professionals from curriculum development to practical learning activities, here and abroad. Approach: The approach aims at enriching existing programs in GH competencies in an interdisciplinary context. The goal is to ensure that all health-science students develop a certain level of GH competency. The main actions are the mobilization of key stakeholders, the development of a competency framework (CF) to perform gap analysis, tool formalization, and monitoring and evaluation activities. Subsequent to scoping review and stakeholder consultations, ten principles are identified and used to guide the enrichment process. Results: Actual outputs cover a broad scope, from key decision-makers’ support and endorsement to the formalization of tools and the consolidation and creation of activities such as service-learning activities, rotations among underserved populations, and training for international rotations. Conclusion: While this unique approach is proving to be a major challenge, the preliminary results are well worth the effort. The project’s tangible impacts on health-sciences teaching, the GH competence of graduates, and care delivery are topics of interest for future investigation.