Speaker
Description
English for Medical Purposes (EMP) around the world may enact a core curriculum at an institutional level, or institutions may have an English language cohort as well as a cohort studying in a local language (British students can qualify in English in Czechia, for example), or an EMP course may have developed over years in a piecemeal manner, as piecemeal needs – and slots in the timetable become available. It is difficult to find clear examples of a core curriculum anywhere, except where students are required (as with international students in UK, eg) to take an external exam, such as IELTS, as a prerequisite for entry, or broad statements about expectations for Clinical Communication courses. “Clinical Communication” however in effect means how doctors and patients/colleagues interact in the primary language of the country. Thus both UK and Europe in general have statements of this type (1,2) but they are of limited relevance in an EMP context, and in any case are not necessarily comprehensive. This presentation gives a very brief overview of the situation in other countries, and efforts to minimise such difficulties as widely varied English language levels. Part of the issue here is the distinction between students who have very good English but relatively poor educational backgrounds, and those with excellent educational support, but relatively weak English (3). It then concentrates on the extent to which varied individual student needs can be accommodated within an overall approach to curriculum design. Examples of how student interests vary, and how they may be catered for are briefly suggested.
- Von Fragstein M, Silverman J et al. UK consensus statement on the content of communication curricula in undergraduate medical education. Medical Education 42(11), 1100-1107. 2008.
- Bachmann C, Abramovitch H, Barbu CG et al. A European consensus on learning objectives for a core curriculum in health care professions. Patient Education and Counselling 93(1), 18-26. 2013.
- Skelton J, Richards C. Communication for medicine: state of the art. ESPToday 9(1), 9-29. 2021.
Speaker Biography
Professor John Skelton was a teacher of EFL/ESP between 1973 and 1980, in Spain, UK, and as Director of Studies for The British Council Oman.
From 1981-84 he taught Applied Linguistics at The National University of Singapore, before returning to UK (1984-92) where he was Director firstly of Aston University Language Studies Unit and then Surrey University English Language Institute.
From 1992-2020 he worked at Birmingham University Medical School, where he was Professor of Clinical Communication, designing curricula and leading teaching in this area for undergraduates and qualified doctors and other health professionals. He was also Head of Education Quality for all healthcare courses, responsible to the University and governing bodies (UK General Medical Council etc) for the quality and appropriateness of Birmingham's healthcare programmes.
He has researched widely in spoken and written Medical Communication, and has undertaken dozens of consultations around the world. He is also one of the very few non-clinicians to hold an Honorary Fellowship from the UK Royal College of General Practitioners.
He is currently President of EALTHY, an association for teachers of English for Healthcare, and continues to be interested in requests to undertake overseas consultancy work.