BACKGROUND

Internationalization in medical education aims to align programs with global standards, foster intercultural competence, and expand academic collaboration. In private medical schools in Northern Luzon, clarifying how internationalization is conceptualized and enacted can enhance the medical curriculum.

OBJECTIVE

To explore how private medical schools in Northern Luzon conceptualize and implement internationalization, identify associated challenges, and propose curriculum inputs to enhance delivery of the medical curriculum.

METHODS

The qualitative study utilized a multiple case study design. The study was approved by the Saint Louis University Research Ethics Committee. Using purposive sampling, 45 participants from private institutions in Northern Luzon Philippines consented to engage in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews from February to April 2025. Data were analyzed through inductive content and thematic techniques.

RESULTS

Participants conceptualized internationalization as (1) alignment with international quality and practice standards; (2) global engagement and exchange encompassing knowledge, skills, culture, institutional networking, and collaboration; (3) inclusivity and multicultural responsiveness; and (4) pursuit of global recognition and accreditation. Implementation occurred via “internationalization at home” (embedding global perspectives in local learning environments), “internationalization abroad” (student/faculty mobility and external exposure), and alignment of philosophical and curricular frameworks. Reported challenges included institutional and curricular constraints, language and cultural barriers, sociocultural and financial limitations, and external/contextual pressures.

CONCLUSION

Addressing the identified barriers and scaling the documented practices can enhance the delivery of the medical curriculum. The study offers actionable curricular revisions that private institutions may adopt to strengthen internationalization in medical education.

Schools, Medical ; Reference Standards ; Mental Competency ; Education, Medical ; Case Reports ; Education ; Curriculum ; International Cooperation ; Cultural Competency

OBJECTIVE

The competence of health workers to attend to vulnerable and marginalized populations is critical to health equity. The study determines the competence of physicians in providing health care to LGBT adolescents in a national tertiary hospital.

METHODOLOGY

All physicians from the departments of Pediatrics and Family and Community Medicine were recruited. An electronic form collected demographic data and responses to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBTDOCSS).Theresponsesweresummarizedandanalyzed.

RESULTS

Most respondents are male, with a mean age of 34.21 years. They are mainly staff of the Department of Pediatrics and post- residency fellows. Not all recall their participation in gender sensitivity training. They report scores towards the higher end of the scale: an overall score of 5.27 and mean subscale scores of 4.43 for clinical preparedness, 6.13 for attitudinal awareness, and 5.24 for basic knowledge. The heterogeneity and pertinacity of their experiences with LGBT individuals mediate their attitudinal awareness. Attaining the level of consultant suggests a better understanding of barriers and disparities against LGBT individuals. The tool has good internal reliability.

CONCLUSION

The demographic profile of the respondents suggests their involvement in healthcare, continuing education, and staff development. They report adequate competence in providing health care to LGBT adolescents.

Human ; Adolescent ; Competence ; Mental Competency ; Healthcare ; Delivery Of Health Care

BACKGROUND

Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) in the Philippines has shifted perioperative training from numeric case quotas toward demonstrated competencies, with simulation increasingly used to address limited operating room (OR) exposure.

OBJECTIVE

This study determined the level of perioperative clinical performance among senior (4th year) nursing students and had also examined associations with four influencing domains: teaching–learning, interpersonal, student-related, and environmental.

METHODS

A descriptive–correlational study was conducted in AY 2023–2024 across higher education institutions in Eastern Visayas. A universal sample of 280 fourth-year BSN students who met minimum perioperative case requirements participated via online and paper surveys. Aresearcher-developed, expert-validated instrument that was anchored on CHED outcomes and PRC–BON guidelines was used to assess 11 competence domains in order to perceive influencing factors. Internal consistency was excellent (performance α = .987; factors α = .944). Descriptive statistics summarized competence; while Fisher’s Exact Test was used to assess associations (p < .05).

RESULTS

Competence was strongest in aseptic technique, patient safety, teamwork, documentation, and ethical–legal responsibilities. Lower ratings were noted for surgical skin preparation, anesthesia assistance, patient transport, medication safety, health education, and quality improvement. Among the four domains, only environmental factors (resources, workflow support, safety culture) were significantly associated with performance (Fisher’s Exact, p = .013).

CONCLUSION

Senior nursing students demonstrated strong technical and ethical perioperative competence but showed persistent gaps in less-frequent and higher-order competencies. Environmental supports in the OR decisively shaped performance. Programs should scale simulation for under-practiced tasks, strengthen mentorship, and explicitly integrate health education and quality improvement within perioperative training.

Human ; Learning ; Education ; Students, Nursing ; Mental Competency

Practice-based learning is the key objective of postgraduate education. COVID-19 has revealed that medical institutions may need to adopt adaptive strategies to guide their students. The aim of this study is to describe the perception of Philippine medical clerks towards their surgical preparedness with an Enriched Virtual Mode (EVM)-Hybrid Learning during the pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 176 fourth-year students using a 21-item 4-point-Likert questionnaire. Descriptive analysis showed that students sustained a strong enthusiasm for surgery (composite mean = 2.83 ± 0.62), with the highest ratings given to skill-oriented subjects, such as practical minors (3.05 ± 0.82) and clinical surgery (3.03 ± 0.78). Preparedness was similarly high (3.17 ± 0.46): practice was regarded as essential (3.50 ± 0.68) and operating-room exposure useful (3.22 ± 0.68), though time for hands-on practice was adequate (2.84 ± 0.74). Preference scores revealed a desire for richer tactile experience (3.36 ± 0.37), with scrubbing, suturing and live surgery observation receiving most support (>3.50). Overall satisfaction reached a moderate-to-high level (2.99 ± 0.48) but lagged behind interest and preparedness, indicating that limited physical immersion tempered fuller contentment. These suggest that while a blended curriculum can preserve enthusiasm and sense of readiness, emphasis on protected skills laboratories and increased exposure to the operating room may be needed to translate conceptual competence into experiential fulfillment.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult: 19-24 Yrs Old ; Cross-sectional Studies ; Education ; Curriculum ; Perception ; Observation ; Schools, Medical ; Personal Satisfaction ; Learning ; Mental Competency ; Laboratories ; Pandemics

PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop a smartphone overdependence prevention program for college students based on the self-determination theory (SDT) and evaluate its effectiveness.METHODS: A non-equivalent control group repeated measures design was used for the study. Participants were 64 university freshmen (experimental group: 29, control group: 35). The developed program consists of eight sessions conducted twice a week. The program was designed to promote autonomy, competence, and relatedness the three elements of the basic psychological needs of self-determination theory. The participants were assessed before the program, immediately after, and 1 and 3 months after the program. Data were collected from April 23 to September 14, 2018 and analyzed by performing a Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA using SPSS/WIN 23.0.RESULTS: This study showed improvement in the basic psychological needs (F=3.90, p =.010) in the experimental group compared to the control group. Specifically, competence (F=2.93, p =.035), relatedness (F=2.89, p =.045), and self-regulatory ability (F=3.11, p =.028) improved significantly.CONCLUSION: Study findings indicate thatthe smartphone overdependence prevention program based on the Self-determination theory could be an effective intervention for improving basic psychological needs and self-regulation ability. Therefore, this program could be an efficient strategy for smartphone overdependence prevention in university students.
Humans ; Mental Competency ; Personal Autonomy ; Self-Control ; Smartphone

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to define and clarify the concept of political competence for nurses.METHODS: A hybrid model method was used to investigate the dimensions, attributes, and definitions of the concept. In the theoretical stage of the study, literature on nursing, politics, and other discipline were reviewed. In the fieldwork stage, individual in-depth interviews and focus groups interviews were conducted with politically seasoned experts or activists who had an understanding of the concept of political competence for extensive descriptions in nursing and field of health care.RESULTS: The concept of political competence was represented in four dimensions as political knowledge, political efficacy, political interaction, and political activity. In the political knowledge dimension, there were three attributes, namely, political knowledge, political information and systematic analysis ability. The political efficacy dimension had three attributes of internal political efficacy, external political efficacy, and self-pride of nursing profession. The political interaction dimension had three attributes of organizations and community service, networking, and persuasive power. The political activity dimension had six attributes of political leadership, political expression, assertive behavior, political advocacy, political participation, and policy intervention.CONCLUSION: This concept development might provide a basic understanding of developing a measurement tool and for constructing a theory promoting nurses' political competence.
Concept Formation ; Delivery of Health Care ; Focus Groups ; Leadership ; Mental Competency ; Methods ; Nursing ; Politics ; Professional Competence ; Seasons ; Social Welfare

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the mediating effects of basic psychological needs between patient autonomy support from healthcare providers, and self-management among cancer survivors.METHODS: This study collected data from 148 cancer patients who had visited D hospitals in B city, Korea. A structured questionnaire was distributed to determine patient characteristics, healthcare provider autonomy support, basic psychological needs, and self-management. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and regression analysis that implemented Baron and Kenny's method for mediation were used for analyses.RESULTS: Self-management was significantly correlated with the level of healthcare provider autonomy support (r = 0.38, p < 0.001), autonomy (r = 0.40, p < 0.001), competence (r = 0.25, p = 0.002), and relatedness (r = 0.32, p < 0.001). Furthermore, autonomy (β = 0.30, p < 0.001) and relatedness (β = 0.22, p = 0.008) had partial mediating effects on the relationship between healthcare provider autonomy support and self-management (Z = 3.13, p = 0.002 and Z = 2.29, p = 0.022, respectively).CONCLUSION: Autonomy and relatedness mediated the impact of healthcare provider autonomy support for self-management among cancer survivors. This suggests that strategies for enhancing autonomy and relatedness should be considered when developing self-management interventions for cancer survivor patients.
Delivery of Health Care ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea ; Mental Competency ; Methods ; Negotiating ; Self Care ; Survivors

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to validate a Perceived Competence Scale for Disaster Mental Health Workforce (PCS-DMHW) designed to measure the core competences of mental health workers in disaster response situations at individual and organizational levels. core competences essentially required in disaster response situations were defined on the basis of literature review, focus-group interview with disaster response professionals, and expert judgment.METHODS: The preliminary items of the PCS-DMHW thus generated were administered to 509 participants consisted of mental health professionals and semi-professionals. The data retrieved from questionnaires were equally divided by two halves. The final items were determined through the exploratory factor analysis of the half data (n=255), and the construct validity was tested by performing the confirmatory factor analysis and criterion-related validity test of the remaining half data (n=254).RESULTS: Three factors were derived from the individual competences scale; 1) perceived competence of knowledge and skill, 2) ethic, and 3) qualification. And three factors were derived from the organizational competence scale; 1) teamwork, 2) network, and 3) followship.CONCLUSION: The PCS-DMHW demonstrated fairly high reliability and validity. Finally, the necessity of continuous validation study and the application modalities of this scale in education and training settings were discussed.
Disasters ; Education ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Judgment ; Mental Competency ; Mental Health ; Reproducibility of Results

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence and multi-cultural perception on the cultural competence of nursing students.METHODS: A Participants consisted of 211 registered nursing students from the university in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Data were collected in March, 2019 using self-report questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, an ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis in SPSS/WIN 21.0.RESULTS: The cultural competence correlated positively with emotional intelligence (r=.30, p<.001) and multi-cultural perception (r=.27, p<.001). The cultural competence was the factor that most influenced emotional intelligence and multi-cultural perception, explaining 33.8% of the variance (F=14.82, p<.001).CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to educate cultural competency education programs designed to the appropriate grade level of nursing students that a nursing students can enhance there multi-cultural perception, Others' emotion appraisal and use of emotion competence.
Cultural Competency ; Education ; Emotional Intelligence ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Mental Competency ; Nursing ; Students, Nursing

BACKGROUND: Clear and proper feedback is necessary to decrease the gap between knowledge and practice. Feedback can improve clinical competence of medical students up to expertise level.METHODS: A total of 180 4th-year students of Daegu-Kyungbuk consortium area participated in the scheduled feedback program of clinical performance examination on August 26th in 2017. Among them, 167 students filled out the questionnaire on helpfulness of the direct observation and feedback of faculty and standardized patient (SP), helpfulness for history taking (Hx), physical examination (PE), and patient-physician interaction (PPI), and any change of clinical competence and clinical reasoning of the students preand post-feedback. All the responses were measured on 5-point Likert scale.RESULTS: Among the total students, 88.6% responded that direct feedback at the practice is helpful, particularly 95.2% of faculty and 76.6% of SP. A 37.3% answered that it was helpful for all the categories of feedback, but only 25.3% for PE and 24.7% for Hx. A 56.3% responded that feedback is helpful for both disease questions and counseling practice. Mean score of self-assessment by the students increased from 2.52 to 3.36 for Hx, 2.30 to 3.24 for PE, 2.46 to 3.33 for clinical reasoning, 2.84 to 3.59 for PPI, and 2.44 to 3.28 for overall competence. And all these differences were found to be statistically significant (P <0.001)CONCLUSION: A majority of students responded that the direct feedback from faculty and SP was helpful at the clinical practice of Hx, PE, and PPI, and increased the level of clinical competence.
Clinical Competence ; Counseling ; Humans ; Mental Competency ; Physical Examination ; Self-Assessment ; Students, Medical