How much can our universities do in the development of cultural intelligence? A cross-sectional study among health care students.

BACKGROUND: Cultural intelligence reflects the competence to adapt to new cultural settings. Universities offer students various opportunities to gain cultural learning and develop cultural intelligence. However, there has been little empirical research to compare the effects of cultural learning and other related psycho-social factors in this process. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the importance of cultural learning and identifies the unique contribution of cultural education in universities to health care students' cultural intelligence. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study. METHODS: 271 health care students completed a survey measuring social desirability, demographics, personality, prior cultural exposure, previous cultural learning and cultural intelligence. RESULTS: Hierarchical regressions showed that cultural learning could affect cultural intelligence and its three components (i.e., metacognition, cognition, motivation, and behaviour) under the control for related psycho-social factors. However, its effect on the behavioral component was not significant. Considering the different types of cultural learning, overseas study experiences were more related to cultural intelligence, compared to in-class cultural learning. CONCLUSION: Cultural learning, especially overseas study experiences, plays a significant role in the development of health care students' cultural intelligence.

The potential contributions of traditional Chinese medicine to emergency medicine.

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been developed and used to treat acute and urgent illness for many thousands of years. TCM has been widely perceived in western societies that TCM may only be effective to treat chronic diseases. The aim of this article is to provide some scientific evidence regarding the application of TCM in emergency medicine and its future potential. METHODS: MULTIPLE DATABASES (PUBMED, PROQUEST, ACADEMIC SEARCH ELITE AND SCIENCE DIRECT) WERE SEARCHED USING THE TERMS: Traditional Chinese Medicine/ Chinese Medicine, Emergency Medicine, China. In addition, three leading TCM Journals in China were searched via Oriprobe Information Services for relevant articles (published from 1990-2012). Particular attention was paid to those articles that are related to TCM treatments or combined medicine in dealing with intensive and critical care. RESULTS: TCM is a systematic traditional macro medicine. The clinical practice of TCM is guided by the TCM theoretical framework - a methodology founded thousands of years ago. As the methodologies between TCM and Biomedicine are significantly different, it provides an opportunity to combine two medicines, in order to achieve clinical efficacy. Nowadays, combined medicine has become a common clinical model particular in TCM hospitals in China. CONCLUSIONS: It is evident that TCM can provide some assistance in emergency although to combine them in practice is still its infant form and is mainly at TCM hospitals in China. The future effort could be put into TCM research, both in laboratories and clinics, with high quality designs, so that TCM could be better understood and then applied in emergency medicine.