A Study On The Intercultural Sensitivity Of International Medical Workers For Training Programs In China

China has constantly provided assistance to developing countries with financial difficulties ever since 1953.Nearly 12 million people have benefited from the assistance programs so far.With the increasing medical assistance to foreign countries,the number of medical workers from developing countries in China has also been increasing year by year.Their intercultural communication competences directly influence their training and life in China.It also plays an important role in their clinical practice and therapeutic effects after they return home.As the intercultural sensitivity is one of the important factors for the intercultural communication competence,this study explores the intercultural sensitivity of 68 medical workers who participated in the training programs of foreign assistance(Taiyuan)sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce in 2017 and 2018.Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study.Surveys were carried out with questionnaire based on Chen Guoming and Starosta’s Intercultural Sensitivity Scale(ISS).In-depth interviews of nine participants from different developing countries and one managing staff were conducted to find out the intercultural sensitivity level of the medical workers from developing countries for training programs in China(international medical workers for short),and to explore their performance on the five dimensions of ISS(interaction engagement,respect for cultural differences,interaction confidence,interaction enjoyment and interaction attentiveness)and the correlations among them,as well as to check whether the factors of region,gender,job,work experience and intercultural experience have significant influence upon their intercultural sensitivity.It was found that(1)the intercultural sensitivity level of the international medical workers is high,which means they have high ability to develop a positive emotion towards understanding and appreciating cultural differences between their home culture and Chinese culture that promotes appropriate and effective behavior in intercultural communication.(2)Their intercultural sensitivity performance on the five dimensions of ISS can be ranked,from high to low: respect for cultural differences,interaction enjoyment,interaction attentiveness,interaction confidence and interaction engagement.The five dimensions are inter-correlated.(3)The selected variables of region and intercultural experience have significant influence upon their intercultural sensitivity.International medical workers from the regions whose cultures are close to Chinese culture and have intercultural experience before coming to China possess higher intercultural sensitivity.However,there is no striking effect of gender,job and work experience on the intercultural sensitivity of the international medical workers.Suggestions for management of the future training programs for medical workers from developing countries are also given from the perspective of intercultural communication: enriching the methods and contents of intercultural training;setting up classes for Chinese language and culture;compiling a handbook on living in China;improving the English proficiency of reception staff,so that the intercultural communication competence and acculturation of the international medical workers will be enhanced and the desired effect of training programs will be reached.