Dilemma and Intercultural Particularities in University Medical Education in Iaşi

Abstract

Over the years, with the increase in accessibility to university mobility, the nationality and ethnicity of students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Grigore T Popa" from Iași, Romania, has progressively diversified, with students originating not only from different countries, but also from extremely varied cultures. They brought to the university environment not only the enthusiasm of the beginning of a new professional educational endeavor, but also a series of particular elements that usually add value to university network, even though this heterogeneity may sometimes create contextual dilemmas they need to overcome with the support of teachers and colleagues. The educational path from admission, at different university and post university studies, including doctoral level is in constant adaptation to local requirements, in line with the European ones and dynamic (that mixes elements of harmony or sometimes conflict) with the need to preserve the cultural and spiritual identity of origin. Medical education, requiring constant interaction with the patient, creates apart from the classic student-teacher relationship, another layer of students’ social and professional interaction, this time with the patients integrated into the hospital life. The detailed analysis of the impact factors in relation to the intercultural variability of medical students could constitute a starting point for an improvement of the management of possible difficulties or struggles inherent in the cultural-educational mix, especially that the model of the "Grigore T Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy is, to a large extent, similar to other medical universities in Romania.