Compassionate Othering: the construction of refugee patients in medical students' narratives - a qualitative study using story completion.
BMC Med Educ
; 24(1): 703, 2024 Jun 27.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38937730
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Refugees remain a marginalized population and are exposed to a variety of discriminatory processes, among them Othering which categorizes people as belonging or not-belonging according to certain ascribed characteristics. We explored how the narrative construction of refugee patients by medical students constitutes a form of Othering.METHODS:
Using story completion, 124 5th year medical students at the Martin- Luther- University Halle-Wittenberg in October 2019 wrote a fictional story in response to a story stem situated in a medical practice. In a comparative approach, one patient presenting with abdominal pain lacks further characterization (version A) and the other is a refugee (version B). The stories were coded using qualitative content analysis by Mayring with a focus on content and narrative strategies (plot structure and perspective).RESULTS:
We identified four themes characters, medical condition, access to care and provision of substandard care. The stories were predominantly framed with a medical or an interaction-based plot structure and written from a process-oriented perspective. The themes in version B, supported by their use of narrative strategies, were largely contextualized within the patients' history of migration. An empathic depiction of patient B and the students' compassion for the patients facing substandard care were key motifs as well.CONCLUSION:
The perception of the version B patients predominantly as refugees establishes their construction as an Other. The students' compassion acts as a representation of societal inequalities and remains an inept response without the tools to counter underlying discriminatory structures. Based on a discourse of deservingness, compassion alone therefore perpetuates Othering and highlights the need for structural competency training in medical school.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Refugiados
/
Estudantes de Medicina
/
Narração
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Pesquisa Qualitativa
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Empatia
Limite:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Med Educ
Assunto da revista:
EDUCACAO
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha