Abstract:

Established in 2019, the Alberta Institute Wenzhou Medical University (AIWMU) is a partnership between Wenzhou Medical University (WMU) and the University of Alberta (UofA), the first cooperative undergraduate clinical medicine program between China and a foreign institution. A competitive five-year dual-degree program, AIWMU employs a transnational, blended learning model (including both in-person and online, synchronous and asynchronous instruction) to develop compassionate, globally-minded practitioners. The curriculum progresses from foundational health and biomedical sciences, including IELTS, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) course instruction in Phase 1, to organ-system-based and clinical learning in Phase 2, adopting the UofA MD Program’s pre-clerkship curriculum taught in English by UofA faculty (with an optional 4-week English-immersion summer program offered at UofA). Phase 3 (Year 5) focuses on clinical internships within the WMU-affiliated hospital network. Throughout, patient-centred care, humanism, and effective communication are emphasized to prepare graduates for complex local and global healthcare challenges.

This report describes AIWMU’s Phase 1 communications curriculum. Integrated into Health Systems Sciences courses in Semesters 2 and 3, students engage in sessions on the "good doctor” ideal, patient-centred care models, structured interview protocols, and elements of doctor-patient communication (verbal and non-verbal communication, mindfulness, close noticing, active listening), and evidence-based outcomes of clinical empathy. Lectures are supplemented by experiential exercises and assignments. Since 2021–22, ~300 students have completed these sessions. In-person communication skills sessions on history-taking and pediatric communication are offered in the summer elective at UofA. New in 2025-26, the “Healing with AI”: Patient Immersion Experience (PIE) course was formalized to transition Year 2 students from theory to practice, prior to beginning Phase 2. Students visited with volunteer patients with chronic illnesses at WMU’s 1st Affiliated Hospital to recognize patients as unique individuals beyond their diagnoses. By engaging in open, non-judgmental discussions with different patients on two separate visits, students gained insight into the complex interplay between a patient’s disease, environment, support supports, the healthcare system, and the central role of empathy.

As medical education evolves globally in an increasingly AI-saturated world, integrating patient-centred care is essential for developing compassionate healthcare practitioners. In addition to highlighting student feedback and learning from our introductory sessions on doctor-patient communication, reflective feedback from Year 2 students following their patient visits at the 1st Affiliated Hospital’s Wound Care Clinic revealed a shift in perspective from technical mastery to compassionate, relational care. Many students shared commitment to integrating empathy with their future clinical care, viewing patients as the "lead experts" of their own experiences, while viewing their role as both healer and a facilitator within the patient's social ecosystem. While teaching doctor-patient communication in a hybrid curriculum poses challenges, integrating patient-centredness and empathy with clinical training is an achievable goal in transnational medical education.

Keywords:

Transnational Medical Education, Patient-Centred Communication, Humanism, Blended Learning, English as Foreign Language Learning.