Internationalization of medical education in China: An investigation of medical graduates’ global competence and its influencing factors

Abstract

Aim

Global competence has become an important competence for medical graduates in the globalized world. However, research on it is scarce. This study was built upon the scholarship published in the field to measure medical graduates’ global competence.

Materials and methods

A questionnaire was administered to China’s medical graduates sampled from four institutions of medical education. Descriptive statistics were made to analyze the level of medical graduates GC. Influencing factors were investigated using multiple linear regression. Multiple levels of regression analysis were used to identify the influence of different independent variables on the dependent variable.

Results

The sample had a relatively good level of global competence in general, but lacked skills in cross-cultural communication and international academic communication. “Internationalization Concept and System” and “International Development of Teachers” in the school dimension and “Taking International Courses”, “International Publication” and “Participation in International Conference” in the dimension of individual international involvement had a significant positive impact on the cultivation of global competence.

Conclusions

The universities should aim for the construction of an effective institutional mechanism for internationalization to help improve students’ global competence.

Keywords:

• Global competence
• medical graduates
• influencing factors
• empirical study
• China

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge all the teachers and students who participated in the study.

Authors’ contributions

Qin Jiang contributed to the conception of the study, prepared the questionnaire and drafted the manuscript. Xiaokang Song and Ke Wang helped in the statistical analysis and preparation of the tables. Cailing Yue was involved in the distribution of the questionnaire, data collection and interpretation of the data. Shenjun Liu and all the other authors involved in critical reading and approved the final manuscript. All the authors gave consent to the final version of the manuscript for publication.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xuzhou Medical University. All participants provided informed consent. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

Consent for publication

All participants gave consent for publication of their data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Philosophy and Social Sciences Fund Project of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, Jiangsu, China [Grant number: 2020SJA1074] and the Graduate Education and Teaching Reform Project of Xuzhou Medical University, Jiangsu, China [Grant number: XYJGKT 202301].

Notes on contributors

Qin Jiang

Ms. Qin Jiang has a main focus on internationalization of higher education.

Xiaokang Song

Dr. Xiaokang Song and Dr. Ke Wang are specialized in statistics.

Cailing Yue

Ms. Cailing Yue was ever in charge of medical graduate education.

Ke Wang

Dr. Xiaokang Song and Dr. Ke Wang are specialized in statistics.

Hong Sun

Professor Hong Sun is a peer reviewer of natural sciences and specialized in medical education.

Zhuoqi Zhang

Professor Zhuoqi Zhang, Mr. Bin Hu, Mr. Hui Li, Mr. Gugen Miao and professor Chunxia Miao focused their research on higher education management.

Bin Hu

Professor Zhuoqi Zhang, Mr. Bin Hu, Mr. Hui Li, Mr. Gugen Miao and professor Chunxia Miao focused their research on higher education management.

Hui Li

Professor Zhuoqi Zhang, Mr. Bin Hu, Mr. Hui Li, Mr. Gugen Miao and professor Chunxia Miao focused their research on higher education management.

Gugen Miao

Professor Zhuoqi Zhang, Mr. Bin Hu, Mr. Hui Li, Mr. Gugen Miao and professor Chunxia Miao focused their research on higher education management.

Chunxia Miao

Professor Zhuoqi Zhang, Mr. Bin Hu, Mr. Hui Li, Mr. Gugen Miao and professor Chunxia Miao focused their research on higher education management.

Shenjun Liu

Professor Shenjun Liu is an expert in higher education and educational management.