Are Danish doctors comfortable teaching in English?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Internationalization in Healthcare

Background:

• The "Internationalization at Home" project at the University of Copenhagen (2012-2015) offered clinical teaching in English.
• This initiative facilitated collaboration between international and Danish students in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the preparedness of Danish clinical doctors to teach in English.
• To evaluate the challenges faced by non-native English speaking medical departments in integrating international students.

Main Methods:

• Semi-quantitative questionnaires were administered to 89 clinicians.
• The survey assessed English proficiency, perceived difficulty of teaching tasks in English, and need for training.

Main Results:

• Most clinicians rated their English proficiency between 7-8/10, but 15% rated it 5/10 or lower.
• One-fourth found teaching and writing in English twice as difficult as in Danish; 12% rated all teaching tasks in English as 4/10 or less.
• The perceived need for additional English skills among clinicians was low.

Conclusions:

• Teaching in English was rated 30% more difficult than in Danish.
• A notable subgroup of doctors experienced significant communication difficulties in English.
• These challenges impact the effective integration of international students in Danish medical departments.