I.i STATEMENT: Socio-cultural Contexts and Medical Education: Tales from Four Continents

The world is geographically divided into hemispheres, continents and countries. The developed countries of North America, western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and some parts of the Asian continent, where the process of medical education is considered established and standardised, are often referred to as the ‘west’ in the literature (Ho et al., 2012). The ‘non-western’ countries include most of the Asian, African, South American and central European nations where medical education generally follows western trends and technological progress. A Dutch social psychologist, Geert Hofstede, well known for his pioneering research on cross-cultural groups and organisations, suggests that in most countries, certain characteristics and ways of life distinguish them from other nations and can be considered their ‘national culture or national character’ (Hofstede & Bond, 1984). Thereby, it is generally noted that the needs of healthcare students and the roles of educators may differ significantly within these regions due to differing societal norms in diverse national cultures (Kallivayalil & Chadda, 2011). Similarly, Hofstede’s work has shown that socio-cultural factors have a strong influence on the mental programming and character of nations, thereby affecting the overall educational process and environment.