- 1Clinical
and Professional Practice, School of Clinical Medicine, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X 7, Congella, 4013, Durban, South Africa.
donda@ukzn.ac.za.
- 2Clinical and Professional
Practice, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal,
Private Bag X 7, Congella, 4013, Durban, South Africa.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
In terms of the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro
Medical Collaboration programme, an agreement between the governments
of South Africa and Cuba, cohorts of South African students receive
their initial five years medical training at a Cuban university before
returning to South Africa for a six to twelve months orientation before
integration into the local final year class. It is common for these
students to experience academic difficulty on their return. Frequently
this is viewed merely as a matter of a knowledge deficit.
DISCUSSION:
We
argue that the problem arises from a fundamental divergence in the
outcomes of the Cuban and South African medical curricula, each of which
is designed with a particular healthcare system in mind. Using the
discrepancy theory of identity proposed by Higgins in 1987, we discuss
the challenges experienced by the returning Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro
Medical Collaboration students in terms of a potential crisis of
identity and suggest interventions which may prove valuable in promoting
academic success and successful integration.
CONCLUSIONS:
Though
providing additional training to address the gap in skills and
knowledge in returning students is an important part of their successful
reintegration, this could be insufficient on its own and must be
complemented by a range of measures designed to ameliorate the
discrepancies in identity which arise from the transition from one
educational model to another.
KEYWORDS:
Discrepancy theory; Identity; Identity crisis; Medical education; Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration Programme
