Abstract:

Within the field of medicine and associated professions, professionalism is founded upon the acquisition of knowledge and practical expertise necessary for conducting diagnostic and therapeutic operations. Nevertheless, to reach their full potential, the doctor or therapist must communicate well with the patient, regardless of their identity. Good relationships between patients and medical staff, mutual respect and trust, and compassionate, sensitive, content-adapted, accessible communication are crucial for treatment and recovery.

Higher education institutions provide good substantive education for future physiotherapists but seem to overlook the importance of soft skills training for communicating in an increasingly culturally varied and sensitive community.

A consortium of seven partners from six European countries (Finland, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Spain, and Turkey) including researchers, academic teachers, physiotherapy and interpersonal communication experts and clinicians aimed to create an open e-learning course on intercultural communication skills for physiotherapy students and professionals. Our approach to enhancing interpersonal communication is centred around utilising the topic of movement analysis and therapy in the therapist's natural setting, since we feel that learning by examples is the most effective method.

In the course, culturally sensitive communication involves understanding and empathy for differences between people from different national groups and within the same national group but with different ethnic values, cultures, traditions, beliefs, and ways of thinking. We considered the requirements of persons of diverse ages, with challenging life experiences, minorities, and those with physical, mental, or social disabilities.

The course content is organised into 15 chapters that present movement analysis and therapeutic issues, cultural contexts, and communication issues. Text, tables, photographs, charts, infographics, and videos are used to diversity course content and improve learning. Each of the 15 chapters follows the following order:
(1) direct knowledge transmission (reading text, instructional videos, and brief recorded lectures);
(2) indirect knowledge transfer (presenting patient cases with unique health concerns and cultural background);
(3) resources for self-analysis and interpretation such as case studies and purpose made movies.

Our approach is rooted in constructivism, a concept that emphasises the active involvement of learners in acquiring knowledge. In education, it emphasises that the world is perceived subjectively, and in psychology it emphasises that experiential learning creates environmental knowledge.

In order to maximise accessibility, the course will be offered in six different language versions. We hope it will be a useful resource for physiotherapists (students and practitioners) as well as university lecturers. It can be used either as a whole or in parts to provoke discourse on intercultural communication in the education of students preparing for careers in the field of medicine.

Acknowledgement:
Project MOV-E is co-financed by the EU (Project ID: KA220-HED-0371FAA1).

Keywords:

Life-long learning, cross-cultural communication, movement analysis.